Medicines Patent Pool and Merck pen license deal for COVID-19 antiviral molnupiravir access

Non-profit organization the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and MSD, the ex-North America name of Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), have signed a voluntary licensing agreement to facilitate affordable global access for molnupiravir, an investigational oral COVID-19 antiviral medicine developed by the US pharma giant.

This agreement will help create broad access for molnupiravir use in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) following appropriate regulatory approvals.

Under the terms of the agreement, MPP, through the license granted by MSD, will be permitted to further license non-exclusive sublicenses to manufacturers and diversify the manufacturing base for the supply of quality-assured or WHO-prequalified molnupiravir to countries covered by the MPP License, subject to local regulatory authorization.