Fiocruz and Merck deal to produce the first oral covid antiviral drug in Brazil

Through its Institute of Drug Technology (Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz), Brazil’s Fiocruz signed has an agreement on technological cooperation with American pharmaceutical company MSD, the ex-North America name of Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK).

The goal is to manufacture in Brazil the first oral antiviral drug to treat COVID-19. Last week, Brazil’s National Agency for Health Surveillance (Anvisa) released the authorization to use the drug, molnupiravir, in the country on an emergency basis.

With this agreement, Fiocruz will be in charge of storing, managing, labeling, packaging, testing, releasing, importing, and supplying molnupiravir to the Unified Health System (SUS, acronym in Portuguese for the Brazilian public health system). The agreement also includes the execution of clinical trials in partnership with the pharmaceutical company, for possible use as COVID-19 prophylaxis, and the beginning of experimental studies to analyze the activity of the drug against other viruses that are also endemic in Brazil, such as dengue and chikungunya.