Philippines to receive 300,000 courses of Merck's COVID-19 pill

The Philippines will receive 300,000 courses of Merck & Co's COVID-19 antiviral drug next month, licensed importers and distributors said on Wednesday, as Asian nations race to get early access to the experimental pill amid large demand.

Singapore and Malaysia have signed deals to buy the drug, Molnupiravir, while Indonesia is finalising a purchase agreement, among a slew of orders after data from interim clinical trials showed the pills could halve the likelihood of hospitalisation or death for patients at risk of severe COVID-19.

"Molnupiravir can now be accessed by our countrymen upon being prescribed for such use by their respective physicians," Monaliza Salian, president of MedEthix, a Philippine healthcare products importer, told a news conference.

MedEthix will import 300,000 courses of Molnupiravir for COVID-19 patients in four hospitals, she added. The shipment will be the first batch of the drug to arrive in the Philippines.

Each pill is estimated to cost 100 to 150 pesos ($1.97 to $2.96), said Meneleo Hernandez, president of pharmaceutical firm JackPharma, which will distribute the drug locally.

The Philippines has approved the "compassionate use" of Molnupiravir for 31 hospitals, Food and Drug Administration Chief Rolando Enrique Domingo told Reuters on Wednesday.

Molnupiravir would be the world's first oral antiviral medication for COVID-19 if it gets regulatory approval.

The Philippines' health ministry on Wednesday reported 3,218 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day tally in more than five months. It has so far fully inoculated roughly 26 million of its 110 million population.

With nearly 2.77 million cases and more than 42,300 deaths, the Philippines has the second highest number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.