Novartis’s ‘No Profit’ COVID19 Drugs
The Swiss drugmaker, Novartis said on Thursday that Novartis’s Sandoz division is making 15 generic drugs available to developing countries to treat symptoms of COVID-19 and will not make a profit on these 15 generic drugs.
To all the 79 countries on the World Bank’s list of low- and lower-middle-income nations, the company said that it would provide medicines ranging from antibiotics and steroids to diarrhea pills.
In an interview, Lutz Hegemann, Novartis Global Health Chief Operating Officer said that they plan to maintain the zero-profit program until the pandemic ends or a vaccine or cure is found.
Helping to keep the vulnerable healthcare systems in countries of South America, Asia, Africa, and European countries Ukraine and Moldova from becoming overloaded is the aim of this new program, said Hegemann. Despite increasing demands for COVID-19 medicines, Novartis has not seen supply-chain shortages.
He added saying that the stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on fragile health systems should not be underestimated. To eliminate big markups, Novartis hopes to work with NGOs, faith-based organizations, and health authorities. We are targeting very direct channels, to influence that to the extent we can, and not targeting classical
commercial distribution channels.In treating the new coronavirus, Novartis’s brand-name drugs have had little application, however, to treat symptoms of those hospitalized, Sandoz generics are among medicines commonly used.
The list includes antibiotics levofloxacin, vancomycin, clarithromycin, ceftriaxone, and amoxicillin, steroids dexamethasone, prednisolone, and prednisone, lung drug salbutamol, reflux medicine pantoprazole, anti-diarrhea drug loperamide, blood thinner heparin, antifungal fluconazole, gout treatment colchicine, and heart failure drug dobutamine.
After some COVID-19 trials concluded that hydroxychloroquine did not work and the United States canceled emergency authorization, hydroxychloroquine, its malaria generic, is not included, though Novartis continues to provide it on government requests and for trials.
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Novartis’s No Profit COVID19 Drugs: To the 79 countries on the World Bank’s list of lower-middle and low–income nations, medicines ranging from steroids to antibiotics, and diarrhea pills will be provided by the drugmaker.
