Strides Pharma, MPP to sell Kovidax

Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical company Strides Pharma Science has announced a sub-licence agreement with Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to commercialise the generic version of Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral treatment — Kovidax– in 95 low and middle-income countries.

As per the official release, the product will be manufactured at Strides’ flagship facility in Bengaluru. It also stated that the company has already secured active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) supplies via preferred partnership agreement.

“Kovidax is the latest addition to our COVID care portfolio and is part of our commitment to produce high-quality medicines to fight the challenges of COVID-19 outbreak around the world,” Strides Pharma Science Limited founder Arun Kumar said.

He added, “We are glad to collaborate with MPP to commercialise the generic version of the Pfizer product and reach out to the global markets. Our forte lies in the scalability and affordability, and we are hopeful of maximizing the reach for Kovidax in a short period.”

Kovidax consists of nirmatrelvir tablets co-packaged and co-administered with ritonavir tablets and is a SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor oral antiviral therapy. Pfizer’s anti-COVID oral treatment has been authorized as a COVID-19 oral therapy for emergency use in the US and other countries amongst high-risk adults and pediatric patients.

It is administered as a dose of 300 mg of nirmatrelvir with 100 mg tablet of ritonavir twice daily for 5 days. Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral treatment has shown 89 per cent reduction in the risk of hospitalisation or death for any cause within three days of symptom onset compared to placebo. Business Today