Shares of select pharmaceutical companies rallied up to 8 per cent on the BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade after several companies signed voluntary license for Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 oral treatment– nirmatrelvir.
Nirmatrelvir in combination with ritonavir co-pack has received emergency use/conditional authorization for Covid-19 treatment in certain populations by the US FDA and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK MHRA and nearly 50 other countries).
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UN backed Medicine Patent Pool (MPP) has signed an agreement with 35 companies worldwide to produce a generic version of the Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid for supply in 95 LMIC including India. Of the 35 companies, six will produce ingredients for the pill, nine will manufacture the finished product and the remaining 20 will do both.
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Afterwards, sales to low-income countries will remain royalty-free, while sales to other countries will be subject to a 5 per cent or 10 per cent royalty depending on income classification.
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