A ceremony was held on Jan 13, 2023, to announce launch of Molnupiravir, a new drug for treatment of COVID-19 that was jointly developed by MSD and Ridgeback, in China. The first Molnupiravir drugs will be delivered to regions across the country.
Taking advantage of its distribution network, China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm)'s subsidiary in Guangdong Province and Beijing distributed the drugs to medical institutes on the evening of Jan 13 to support clinical treatment of the pandemic.
Sinopharm and MSD inked a cooperation agreement on Sept 28, 2022, according to which MSD would grant the distribution and exclusive import rights for the drug in China to Sinopharm when Molnupiravir is approved in the country.
In addition, Sinopharm will promote local production and supply of the drug when it obtains technology transfer of the drug from MSD.
On Nov 7, 2022, Sinopharm and MSD signed the import and distribution agreement for the MSD-developed novel coronavirus treatment drug Molnupiravir and on Dec 29 the same year, the National Medical Products Administration of China approved the import registration of the drug under an emergency evaluation and approval procedure with conditions attached.
(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)
