(UPDATED) The first shipment of the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir, under the brand Molnaflu, will arrive in the country within the month of November, Filipino pharmaceutical company MedEthix Inc. announced Wednesday, October 27, 2021.

The drug, priced at P100 to P150 per tablet, will be available initially in four hospitals, MedEthix president and chief executive officer Monaliza Salian said in a virtual press conference.

Salian said these four hospitals, which she declined to identify, have been granted a compassionate special permit (CSP) for the use of molnupiravir as treatment against mild coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Other hospitals, including those outside Metro Manila, are still applying for a CSP with the Food and Drug Administration, she added.

The first shipment will consist of 300,000 bottles, each of which contains 40 pieces of 200 mg pills for the recommended five-day regimen.

Meny Hernandez, president of JackPharma Inc. which is handling sales, said the recommended dose is 800 mg (4 capsules) taken twice a day for five days.

Molnupiravir, which was developed by Emory University and MSD (Merck), will allow patients with mild Covid-19 symptoms to be treated early in an outpatient setting.

MSD has inked voluntary in-licensing deals with Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply molnupiravir to low and middle-income countries, including the Philippines.

The MedEthix shipment will come from Aurobindo Pharma, one of the eight manufacturers in India, Salian said.

“We took the chance to apply for a CSP once MSD announced promising initial clinical results for molnupiravir. We are honored to bring this treatment drug to the country as early as November and we assure Filipinos that we are going to offer the same level of quality as with our other products and services,” Salian said.

Molnupiravir works by entering the Covid-19 virus and altering it to become harmless. Even if the virus replicates, it is no longer deadly.

Salian said clinical trials sponsored by MSD licensee Aurobindo Pharma in India showed that 81 percent of the 1,200 mild cases taking molnupiravir had negative RT-PCR results on the fifth day of treatment. All the patients included in the study were treated at home. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)