[FETV=박제성 기자] Hanmi Pharmaceutical (Hanmi Science, holding company) recently signed a patent production contract with the International Pharmaceutical Patent Pool (MPP), which signed a patent agreement with Merck of the United States for molnupiravir (trade name: Lagevrio), an edible corona treatment. announced on the 20th that the The company plans to produce LaGebrio generics (generic drugs) as soon as possible and supply and sell them to some of the 105 underdeveloped countries.
‘Laguebrio’ was approved for emergency use in the UK in November of last year, and in the US in December of the same year, it was approved for administration to patients who could not use ‘other approved COVID-19 treatment’. Currently, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is also conducting an approval review.
MPP, a non-profit medical organization supported by the United Nations, signed an agreement with Merck on the provision of patent licenses for molnupiravir in October last year. The contract between Hanmi Pharm and MPP was made with the intention of contributing to the global effort to end the corona virus by greatly increasing the accessibility of COVID-19 treatment to underdeveloped countries.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical submitted a letter of intent to participate in the production of ‘Laguebrio’ to MPP around November last year. After rigorous screening, it was finally selected as the production manager in December of last year. As a result, Hanmi Pharm will receive Laguebrio manufacturing know-how from Merck, and patent royalties will be exempted until the WHO declares the end of the pandemic.
According to this contract, Hanmi Fine Chemicals (a subsidiary of Hanmi Pharm), a pharmaceutical company specializing in raw materials, will immediately start producing raw materials for Lagevrio, and the produced raw materials will be transferred to Hanmi Pharm’s smart plant located in Paltan, Gyeonggi-do, where it will be used for finished drug production.
The government’s support was also supported in the signing of the contract between Hanmi Pharm and MPP. The ‘Corona 19 Treatment/Vaccine Development Pan-Government Support Committee’ under the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been supporting the selection of Korean pharmaceutical companies since November last year, including prior consultations with MPP for domestic production of oral corona treatment drugs.
In this regard, the government has announced that it will continue to support the domestic production and global expansion of oral corona treatment products through business meetings.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical said, “The bold step of Korea and the US to end the COVID-19 pandemic has begun. We will do our best to supply it to the world quickly.”
