Merck's 4,000% Markup of Taxpayer-Funded COVID Drug Is 'Extortion,' Critics Say Children's Health Defense

Last week, Merck announced plans to request emergency federal authorization for molnupiravir after a late-stage clinical trial showed that a five-day course of the antiviral drug cut the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death in half in patients with mild-to-moderate cases.

The same day Merck unveiled the results of the trial and White House officials hailed the drug as another possible tool against COVID-19, the New York Times reported that "The federal government has placed advance orders for 1.7 million courses of treatment, at a price of about $700 per patient" - far more than the estimated cost of manufacturing the drug.

If authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, molnupiravir - which Merck developed in partnership with the Miami-based firm Ridgeback Biotherapeutics - would be the first antiviral pill approved to treat COVID-19, potentially a major breakthrough in the fight against the global pandemic.

"Governments must break Merck's monopolies so generic companies can expand supply and slash prices globally," said Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP. Heidi Chow of the Jubilee Debt Campaign decried the $700-per-patient price the U.S. government paid for molnupiravir as "Another example of Big Pharma reaping billions from public investment into research by charging extortionate, rip-off prices for lifesaving COVID drugs."

"The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a division of the Department of Defense, provided more than $10 million of funding in 2013 and 2015 to Emory University," from which Ridgeback licensed the drug in 2020, Lerner noted.

In addition to slamming Merck for selling the drug to the U.S. at a price 40 times higher than the cost of production, public health advocates stressed the Biden administration has an obligation to ensure that the treatment is made widely available and affordable to all.

The U.S. government has never exercised its march in rights to drive down the cost of a drug.
 

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/merck-price-gouging-taxpayer-funded-covid-drug/