Coronavirus: France cancels order for Merck treatment – 12/22/2021 at 7:41 PM


CORONAVIRUS: FRANCE CANCELS ITS ORDER FOR MERCK TREATMENT

PARIS (Reuters) – France has canceled its order for Merck’s antiviral treatment for patients at high risk of severe form of COVID-19, due to disappointing treatment results, and hopes to receive Pfizer’s before the end of January , said the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, on Wednesday.

France is the first country to publicly announce the cancellation of its order for the oral treatment developed by Merck.

At the end of November, the pharmaceutical group had published data suggesting that its drug was significantly less effective than expected, by reducing hospitalizations and deaths in its clinical trial for patients at very high risk of severe form of COVID-19 than d ‘about 30%.

“The latest study results are not good. So we canceled the order, it cost us nothing,” Olivier Véran said on BFM TV.

Merck indicated that the cancellation of this order followed the decision of the High Authority of Health (HAS) not to authorize the treatment.

In a statement, the company said it was continuing to work with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on reviewing its treatment, adding that it has reached agreements with more than 30 countries to provide it to them. He said he has already shipped his treatment to 12 countries.

On December 10, the HAS refused to authorize early access to the treatment developed by Merck as a curative treatment for mild and moderate forms of COVID-19 in adults with a positive diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 and who present at least one risk factor for developing a severe form of the disease.

In October, Olivier Véran had indicated that France had pre-ordered 50,000 doses of this treatment.

For the treatment developed by Pfizer, which has shown in the trial phase an effectiveness of nearly 90% in avoiding the risks of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients, according to the American laboratory, Olivier Véran said he hoped in available from the end of January.

“France has positioned itself so that we can have it from the end of January,” he said.

“It will be available with distribution channels to be determined during the month of January,” he added, without specifying what quantity had been ordered.

(Mimosa Spencer report; French version Matthieu Protard, edited by Tangi Salaün)



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