Beximco’s Covid drug now available in stores, to cost Tk70 per capsule

A locally produced version of the world's first generic molnupiravir, an oral antiviral drug for the coronavirus disease, is now available in drug stores across Dhaka.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd is producing and marketing the drug – recently developed by Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics – as "Emorivir."

Beximco Pharma launches oral drug for Covid-19

Patients in Bangladesh can now buy the lifesaving drug from local pharmacies at a rate of Tk70 per piece.

Speaking to The Business Standard on Tuesday, Beximco Pharma Chief Operating Officer (COO) Rabbur Reza said, "A Covid-19 patient has to take total eight capsules a day.

"It will cost them Tk2,800 to complete the five-day course of 40 Emorivir capsules."

Reza said, "Beximco has been working on this drug since June last year. We immediately started distributing the medicine to Dhaka pharmacies following approval from the Department of Drug Administration.

"Our representatives will soon visit the doctors and brief them regarding the new medicine."

"We are going to start sending the medicine to different parts of the country from today. Locations with a higher number of infections and deaths will be prioritised," the Bexmico COO added.

"At present, we only have the 200mg dose available," Reza said, adding that the price of the medicine will go down when they will get to produce 400mg and 800mg doses of the drug.

"This drug prevents the deadly virus from replicating itself in the human body. This will help to reduce hospitalization and bring down the number of casualties," he added.

Earlier in the day, in an event for the launch of the anti-Covid-19 drug, Beximco Pharmaceuticals MD Nazmul Hassan, MP, said, "This is an example of Beximco Pharma's ability to rapidly respond to make affordable treatments available to patients suffering from Covid-19."

"This is a great achievement for the company. This will play an important role in combating the pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income countries where access to vaccines has been limited," he furthered.

Molnupiravir is the world's first oral product to treat symptomatic Covid-19 which was approved by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on 4 November 2021.

Molnupiravir is currently under review by several other regulatory authorities, including the European Medicines Agency and the United States Food and Drug Administration.

As an oral treatment that can be administered at home, molnupiravir, has the potential to have a significant impact on the treatment paradigm for Covid-19.

For instance, it may reduce the need for infected patients to visit medical facilities, therefore also reducing the risk of infecting others.

Data published by MSD suggest that it may cut the risk of hospitalisation and death by half, with 7.3% of molnupiravir patients being taken to the hospital after 29 days compared to 14.1% of patients who were treated with placebo.

Molnupiravir works by interfering with the replication of the virus.

This prevents it from multiplying, keeping virus levels low in the body and therefore reducing the severity of the disease.

With the launch of a branded generic version, Beximco Pharma is helping to broaden access and reduce the cost of this potentially life-saving treatment option, which could bring significant benefit to unvaccinated or immunosuppressed patients.