Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commits up to $120 Million to Accelerate Access to COVID-19 Drug for Lower-Income Countries, Calls on Other Donors to Mobilize Resources

Financial commitment aims to secure dedicated, low-cost supply of molnupiravir, if the drug is authorized by regulators; builds on long-term efforts to increase access to tests, treatments, vaccines

SEATTLE, Oct. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today a commitment of up to $120 million to accelerate access to the investigational antiviral drug molnupiravir for lower-income countries as part of its COVID-19 response effort. The funding will be allocated based on consultations with partners, and will support the range of activities required to develop and manufacture generic versions of the drug, which is being developed by Merck & Co in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

This commitment builds on the foundation's ongoing efforts, including $1.9 billion in funding, since the start of the pandemic to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests by supporting R&D, regulatory work, at-risk manufacturing, and product delivery.

"To end this pandemic, we need to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live in the world, has access to life-saving health products. The unjust reality, however, is that low-income countries have had to wait for everything from personal protective equipment to vaccines. That is unacceptable," said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. "Today's commitment will ensure that more people in more countries get access to the promising drug molnupiravir, but it's not the end of the story—we need other donors, including foundations and governments, to act."

Initial data reported by Merck suggest that molnupiravir, a broad-spectrum antiviral, can cut the risk of serious disease and death due to COVID-19 by half. Molnupiravir would be the first oral outpatient drug authorized for use in treating COVID-19 patients with mild and moderate disease—a critical breakthrough to prevent hospitalizations and save lives in combination with increased vaccination coverage and existing treatments for severely and critically ill patients. The decision on whether to authorize the drug for use sits with regulatory agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and national governments.