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Bongbong, Sara support local production of anti-COVID drugs


The tandem of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte is supporting the initiative to locally produce molnupiravir, an anti-viral drug.

In a statement released Friday, Marcos and Duterte said the initiative would be a big help in the country's battle against COVID-19 pandemic.

"We fully support this kind of initiative, and we intend to expand it so that more of our people can avail of this life-saving medicine.  We also need to allow our local pharmaceutical industry to increase its manufacturing capacity to make COVID-19 treatments widely available and more affordable," the BBM-Sara UniTeam said.

According to earlier reports, local manufacturer Lloyd Laboratories Inc. said it could produce huge volumes of molnupiravir through a technology that came from a pharmaceutical firm in India.

The said company is targeting to produce an initial of one million 400mg capsules, with a suggested retail price of P65.

The BBM-Sara UniTeam, meanwhile, vowed to ensure that all Filipinos get the best possible care amid the prevailing health crisis.

"Aside from pushing for reforms and better policies in the healthcare sector, we are also keen on initiatives that have immediate benefit to our people's health and well-being," the tandem said. 

"As home isolations and home quarantines become the norm, those with mild symptoms will need therapy like molnupiravir. The resulting increase in our manufacturing capacity and capability will also enable us to produce future COVID-19 treatments faster when they become available,"  they added.

At present, the Food and Drug Administration has given emergency use authorizations for the COVID-19 anti-viral drugs casirivimab and imdevimab or ronapreve, and molnupiravir or molnarz.

It has a certificate of product registration for remdesivir or Covifor. The registration allows the marketing or free distribution of the medicine. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News

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