MSF asks Regeneron to make COVID antibody cocktail affordable; forego patent claims

According to the study, C.1.2 lineage has a mutation rate of about 41.8 mutations per year, which is about twice as fast as the current global mutation rate of the other variants. (Representative image: Reuters)

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, the Paris-based non-government organization (NGO), on September 23 asked US drugmaker Regeneron to make the COVID-19 antibody cocktail, casirivimab/imdevimab, affordable and accessible to patients and forego monopoly on the treatments.

"Given the massive need for COVID-19 medicines around the world, Regeneron should make casirivimab and imdevimab available at a reasonable price, and cease pursuance and enforcement of patents, especially in low- and middle-income countries," MSF said in a statement.

"The company should also openly license any proprietary rights attached to these medicines and share their technology and know-how to speed up production and diversify supply by alternative manufacturers around the world," the statement added.

High cost

Casirivimab/imdevimab has demonstrated in clinical trials a decreased risk of hospitalization for non-severe COVID-19 patients with high risk of developing severe disease, and a reduced risk of death for COVID-19 patients already in severe condition but who are seronegative (patients who have not experienced a natural antibody response of their own). Importantly, this is the very first drug against COVID-19 to be recommended by the World Health Organization for use by non-severe patients to reduce the risk of disease progression for those at the highest risk.

Regeneron has pegged the antiviral cocktail at $820 (Rs 59,750) in India, $2,000 in Germany and $2,100 in the US. It has already filed patent applications in at least 11 low and middle-income countries.

"Given that Regeneron received significant public funding to develop casirivimab/imdevimab, and that manufacturing costs of mAbs are estimated to be below $100 per gram when produced at large scale, the company should immediately drop the price to reflect the cost of production and engage in technology transfer to other producers," MSF said in its statement.

MSF advised governments to make use of legal and policy measures to remove barriers to access to technologies and to accelerate development and introduction of biosimilar alternatives to ensure sustainable supply and access.

“It is simply not fair that people living in low- and middle-income countries cannot access new COVID-19 treatments that can decrease the risk of death because of pharmaceutical companies’ monopolies and wishes for high returns,” said Dr Elin Hoffmann Dahl, Infectious Disease Advisor, MSF Access Campaign.