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The World Health Organization (WHO) has added Regeneron antibody drug cocktails-casirivimab and imdevimab-to its treatment list for COVID-19 patients, urging manufacturers to lower prices and ensure fair distribution.
The WHO said in a statement on Friday that clinical studies have shown that this drug combination is effective for patients who are not severely ill but are at high risk of being admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19, or who have serious illnesses and do not have existing antibodies. .
It is the first drug against COVID-19 recommended by WHO for non-severe high-risk patients to reduce the chance of disease progression.
Antibody therapy Guaranteed In November last year, after former US President Donald Trump used the authorization to treat him when he was admitted to the hospital for COVID-19, he received an emergency use authorization. The UK has also approved it, and it is under review in Europe.
“WHO warns that, in order not to exacerbate health inequality and limited availability of treatment, treat patients who are not critically ill and at higher risk of hospitalization, as well as severe or critically ill patients with seronegative status (those who have not yet produced accurate COVID-19 confirmed by the rapid test is treated; because these two patient groups are the patients who have benefited the most from treatment,” the statement said.
The health agency urged the patented Regeneron to lower the price of the drug and work towards a fair distribution worldwide. The WHO added that it should also share technology to produce biosimilars.Swiss drugmaker Roche is partnership Produce antibody therapy with Regeneron.
Activists and public health experts have been urging pharmaceutical companies to lower prices and share intellectual property rights to ensure that the development of coronavirus treatments and vaccines is usually funded by taxpayers and can be provided to those who need them most, no matter where they live.
‘Live before profit’
In announcing the WHO’s recommendations, Médecins Sans Frontières (Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) urged Regeneron to provide casirivimab and imdevimab at reasonable prices and stop enforcing patents, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
“Due to the monopoly of pharmaceutical companies and the desire for high returns, it is unfair for people living in low- and middle-income countries to have access to new COVID-19 treatments that can reduce the risk of death,” Elin Hoffmann Dahl of the Infectious Diseases Department Dr. MSF Access Campaign consultant said in a statement.
“Casirivimab and imdevimab are only conditionally recommended for COVID-19, but Regeneron has already started to apply for patents. On the contrary, Regeneron should put human life above profit and set an example for all monoclonal antibody manufacturers. Here During the pandemic and in the future, people all over the world need affordable and sustainable access to life-saving drugs.”
The therapy belongs to a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies, which have been on the market for decades and are used to treat many other diseases, including cancer. Each is tailored for specific diseases.
MSF said that Regeneron has priced the antiviral cocktail at US$820 in India, US$2,000 in Germany, and US$2,100 in the United States, and has filed patent applications in at least 11 low- and middle-income countries. The company has developed “significant” public funds and the manufacturing cost of monoclonal antibody drugs is estimated to be less than $100 per gram in mass production.
The WHO stated that UNITAID, the international health agency, is negotiating with Roche to lower prices and distribute them fairly around the world. It said it is still discussing with the company to donate and distribute medicines through UNICEF, following the distribution standards set by the WHO.
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