The Health Ministry is reviewing alternative COVID-19 medications for use besides Molnuvirapir in case a third wave of coronavirus infections occurs in early 2022, Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said.
“Molnuvirapir is expected to arrive in Indonesia by the end of this year and we will be ready to use it next year,” he informed during a press conference after an evaluation meeting on community mobility restrictions (PPKM) on Monday.
Antivirus mediations are needed to handle any potential spikes in infections, he added.
The Ministry of Health is continuing to work closely with the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) to review alternative COVID-19 antivirus medicines, he said.
“We are also continuing to examine other alternative medicines similar to Molnuvirapir which can reduce the risk of hospitalization in suspected patients,” he informed.
The government is trying to bring 600 thousand to 1 million Molnuvirapir doses in Indonesia in December 2021 through a direct purchase scheme with producers, he added.
“We are still waiting for the issuance of an emergency-use permit by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is expected to be out in early December,” the Health Minister informed.
Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co has applied to FDA for a permit to use its drug, Molnupiravir. This makes the drug the first COVID-19 oral antivirus medication for which a license has been sought, Sadikin noted.
The Indonesian government has reached an agreement to purchase Molnupiravir, he informed. The medicine, which is claimed to cut mortality and hospitalization risk by 50 percent can be purchased at a price ranging from US$40 to US$50, or equivalent to Rp568 thousand to Rp710 thousand, he said.
Earlier, Minister Sadikin had said that Pfizer has prepared the Ritonavir COVID-19 antivirus pill, which it claims reduces severe symptoms in people suffering from COVID-19.
The pill can cut the chances of hospitalization and death in adults at risk of severe disease by 89 percent, he noted.
Source: Antara News