(Yicai Global) Sept. 29 -- US pharmaceutical giant Merck has agreed to give China National Pharmaceutical Group, also known as Sinopharm, the exclusive right to import and distribute its Covid-19 antiviral drug in China.

The pair will also evaluate the feasibility of technology transfer for Molnupiravir to be produced, supplied, and commercialized in China, New Jersey-based Merck announced yesterday.

Molnupiravir, which has not yet been approved for use by Chinese regulators, is 50 percent effective at preventing the hospitalization of patients with severe Covid-19 infections, according to Merck’s US clinical trial results, versus 89 percent for Pfizer’s Paxlovid.

Molnupiravir will be directly granted sales approval in the Chinese market like Paxlovid, Yicai Global learned from people familiar with the matter. The World Health Organization gave Molnupiravir conditional recommendation in the updated Covid-19 treatment guide released in March, but suggested active monitoring of the drug, given that it has very little safety data.

The National Medical Products Administration conditionally approved the sale of Paxlovid in February, less than two months after it got the go-ahead in the US. It is the only imported oral Covid-19 antiviral medicine Chinese regulators have approved.

A course of treatment with Molnupiravir costs USD707, USD177 more than Paxlovid. Merck authorized Indian vendors to sell generic Molnupiravir at less than USD20 per course.

Paxlovid, Sotrovimab, and Remdesivir are the preferred drugs, according to the US government's Covid-19 diagnosis and treatment scheme published in March. Molnupiravir can be considered for use only when the three others are inaccessible or would be detrimental to the patient.

Editor: Futura Costaglione