Mauritius approves new anti-COVID drugs

The Drugs and Therapeutics Committee of the Ministry of Health and Wellness has reportedly approved the use of the two drugs – Ronapreve and Molnupiravir – to treat COVID-19 patients.

Ronapreve, a new molecule developed by MERK, has been approved for use by the World Health Organisation. Molnupiravir, which is also a newly developed anti-viral COVID-19 drug by the same company, is currently being used only in the United Kingdom but is not yet available.

Dr Jagutpal said the committee had, in September 2021, recommended the procurement of Tocilizumab injections and eventually Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

He added that 76 pre-filled syringes of Tocilizumab available on the local market have been procured and have already been used for the treatment of 19 patients from 02 to 19 October 2021.

Furthermore, he pointed out that his Ministry had already initiated tender procedures to procure an additional 300 Tocilizumab injections but based on the increasing trend of COVID-19 patients, the quantity has been increased to 600 injections at the cost of some Rs 20,000 per injection.

The local representative of the manufacturer of this drug has reportedly announced that it may be available by December 2021.

Source: GIS Mauritius