REG - Beximco Pharmaceut - License to produce molnupiravir for COVID-19

Beximco PharmaceuticalsAnnouncement

20/01/2022 09:05

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RNS Number : 0854Z  Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd  20 January 2022

 

20 January, 2022

 

 

 

BEXIMCO PHARMACEUTICALS LTD.

 

Beximco Pharma granted license to produce molnupiravir for COVID-19

 

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited ("Beximco Pharma", "BPL" or "the Company"),
the fast-growing manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical products and active
pharmaceutical ingredients, announces that the United Nations-backed Medicines
Patent Pool (MPP) has expanded its network of partnered generic manufacturers
to include Beximco Pharma. Under the partnership, the Company becomes one of
the first Bangladeshi companies to be granted a sub-license by the MPP to
produce molnupiravir, an oral drug for the treatment of COVID-19, originally
developed by MSD, a trade name of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA,
and in partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

 

Molnupiravir is an oral antiviral to treat symptomatic COVID-19, which
received conditional marketing authorization in the UK from the UK Medicines
and Healthcare Regulatory Agency on 4 November 2021 and received Emergency Use
Authorization in the US from the US Food and Drug Administration on 23
December 2021. The sub-license agreement is a result of the voluntary
licensing agreement signed by the MPP and MSD in October 2021 to facilitate
affordable global access for molnupiravir, which MSD is developing in
partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Under this agreement, MPP may
sub-license the production of the drug to global generic drug manufacturers to
ensure a steady supply in different regions of the world.

 

Beximco Pharma will manufacture molnupiravir in Bangladesh and expects to
start domestic distribution and export from the end of 2022, following
successful technology transfer and manufacturing regulatory approvals, under
license from MPP. The Company will continue to sell its own generic version of
molnupiravir (Emorivir), as announced on 9 November 2021, under the World
Trade Organization's Least Developed Country (LDC) waiver in the meantime.

 

Managing Director of Beximco Pharma, Nazmul Hassan MP, commented:

"Since the start of the pandemic, we have remained committed to assessing
opportunities to increase the access and affordability of COVID-19 treatments
for patients. As such, we are delighted to have been granted a sub-license to
produce molupiravir by the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool. To
partner with such a prestigious organisation is testament to the quality of
our manufacturing capabilities and is also aligned to our corporate mission by
enabling broad access to this oral treatment in many low- and middle-income
countries."

 

For further information please visit www.beximcopharma.com
(http://www.beximcopharma.com) or enquire to:

 

Beximco Pharma

Nazmul Hassan MP, Managing Director

Tel: +880 2 58611001, ext. 20080

S M Rabbur Reza, Chief Operating Officer

Tel: +880 2 58611001, ext. 20111

Mohammad Ali Nawaz, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +880 2 58611001, ext. 20030

SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser)

Mark Brady / Andrew Emmott

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3368 3551 / 3555

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Broker)

Vadim Alexandre / Abigail Wayne

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470

FTI Consulting

Simon Conway / Victoria Foster Mitchell

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000

Notes to Editors

About Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited

Beximco Pharma is a leading manufacturer and exporter of medicines based in
Bangladesh. Since its inception in 1976, the Company remains committed to
health and wellbeing of people across all the continents by providing access
to contemporary medicines. Company's broad portfolio of generics encompasses
diverse delivery systems such as tablets, capsules, liquids, semi-solids,
intravenous fluids, metered dose inhalers, dry powder inhalers, sterile
ophthalmic drops, insulins, prefilled syringes, injectables, nebuliser
solutions, oral soluble films etc. The Company also undertakes contract
manufacturing for multinational and leading global generic pharmaceutical
companies.

Beximco Pharma′s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities are certified by
global regulatory authorities of USA, Europe, Australia, Canada, GCC and Latin
America, among others and it has a geographic footprint in more than 50
countries. More than 5,500 employees are driving the company towards achieving
its aspiration to be among the most admired companies in the world.

 

About The Medicines Patent Pool

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health
organisation working to increase access to, and facilitate the development of,
life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its
innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments,
international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders,
to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to
encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.

 

To date, MPP has signed agreements with 13 patent holders for thirteen HIV
antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting
antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, two long-acting technologies, two
experimental oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and a COVID-19 serological
antibody diagnostic test.

 

MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP's main funder. MPP's
work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation (SDC). MPP's activities in COVID-19 are undertaken
with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for
Europe and Foreign Affairs, and SDC.

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