Will China's Lockdown Policy Change... Sinopharm and US MSD's Exclusive Import of 'Molnupiravir'

Discussion on Technology Transfer of Oral COVID-19 Treatment Molnupiravir
National Institute of Drug Safety to Approve Soon... Increased Expectations for Change in China's 'Zero COVID' Policy

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Cho Young-shin] China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), a state-owned pharmaceutical company in China, will exclusively import the oral COVID-19 treatment drug "Molnupiravir (Lagevrio)" from the U.S. company Merck & Company (MSD).

This is the first time that China has officially imported an oral COVID-19 treatment drug from a U.S. pharmaceutical company. Accordingly, there are expectations that there may be changes to the lockdown-centered "Zero (0) COVID policy."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to Chinese media such as Economic Observer on the 29th, MSD and Sinopharm signed an exclusive import contract for the oral COVID-19 treatment drug Molnupiravir the day before.

MSD has submitted an application for the use of Molnupiravir to the China National Medical Products Administration, and Sinopharm plans to supply Molnupiravir immediately once approval is granted by the authorities.

Chinese media reported that Molnupiravir is an oral COVID-19 treatment drug approved for use in more than 40 countries including the U.S., European Union (EU), Australia, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Tao Lina, a Chinese vaccine expert, said, "The signing of the exclusive import contract between MSD and Sinopharm means that approval for the use of Molnupiravir will be granted soon."

In addition to the exclusive supply contract, MSD and Sinopharm are also in discussions regarding technology transfer. It is known that both parties will conduct a feasibility assessment for the technology transfer. If confirmed, Molnupiravir will undergo production, supply, and export processes within China.

Photo by Pengpai Capture

Chinese media emphasized the possibility of technology transfer for Molnupiravir, citing that MSD transferred hepatitis B vaccine production technology to China for 7 million dollars in 1989.

Robert Davis, CEO of MSD, hinted that discussions on technology transfer are underway, stating, "We are making other major efforts with Sinopharm to combat COVID-19 and expand the use of Molnupiravir."

Sinopharm Chairman Liu Jingzhen said, "We hope to leverage each other's strengths to supply Molnupiravir to Chinese patients as quickly and affordably as possible."

Economic Observer cited a quarterly report from the U.S. pharmaceutical companies, reporting that Pfizer's oral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid sales reached 9.6 billion dollars (approximately 14 trillion won) in the first half of this year, while MSD's Molnupiravir sales were 4.4 billion dollars.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.