LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today applauded Merck and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) for their recent sublicensing agreements with 27 generic drug companies for the manufacturing of the oral COVID-19 antiviral medication molnupiravir, giving 105 low- and-middle-income countries (LMICs) access to the drug. AHF also urged Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson to follow suit by sharing their COVID-19 vaccine know-how and technology that would allow LMICs to produce generic, lifesaving doses locally.
“We praised Merck last October for its voluntary licensing agreement with MPP. Their efforts are now coming to fruition with an affordable generic anti-COVID treatment that will be available in more than 100 lower-income countries,” said Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Executive Director of the AHF Institute for Global Public Health at the University of Miami. “Now, if some of this common sense and goodwill displayed by Merck would rub off on the big three vaccine makers, the world can begin to end the pandemic with sufficient vaccine access in all countries – not just those with wealth.”
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AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.6 million clients in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare
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