More supplies of molnupiravir to be made available in Philippines —firm

More supplies of anti-COVID-19 medication molnupiravir will soon be available in the Philippines, healthcare firm Faberco Life Sciences Inc. said.

The company said it has currently made anti-COVID-19 medication molnupiravir available in the country through the compassionate special permit (CSP) issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Faberco added that though molnupiravir is not yet available commercially, it has chosen RiteMed Philippines, Inc. to distribute it to the private sector, including hospitals and treatment sites, under compassionate use, which allows institutions to procure and distribute products under study, or those awaiting approval for immediate use in emergency situations.

Molnupiravir is the first oral antiviral drug shown to prevent mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 from progressing into severe disease that needs hospitalization.

Britain earlier became the first country to approve the pill, as it greenlit the use of Merck's antiviral drug to treat patients suffering from mild to moderate coronavirus, regulators said.

“We are anticipating the approval from the Philippine FDA in the coming weeks” Faberco Life Sciences Inc. founding member and chairman of the board Vinay Panemanglor said in a statement.

In clinical trials molnupiravir, originally developed to treat flu, cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% when given as a five-day treatment regimen in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

Faberco added that the drug needs to be given within five days of symptoms developing to be most effective.

“Faberco Life Sciences, Inc commits to the Filipino people to make available and accessible this life-saving drug, bringing hope and giving our nation more reason to celebrate this Christmas and welcome the new year with more optimism and enthusiasm,” Kishore Hemlani, the company’s founder and vice-chairman of the board, said.

The European Medicines Agency earlier said it had started a review of molnupiravir, raising hopes for an easy-to-administer treatment to reduce serious or deadly cases.

The move, which could eventually lead to authorization on the European market, comes two weeks after Merck applied for emergency use in the US of the anti-COVID drug. — Richa Noriega/BM, GMA News