Merck Sharp & Dohme issued a statement in response to a manufacturer supplying New Crown drugs under the banner of "authorized by Merck Sharp & Dohme".

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On January 11, Merck Sharp & Dohme (China) Investment Co., Ltd. issued a statement regarding Merck Sharp & Dohme’s new crown drug, monoprevir capsules. The following is the full text.

Monoravir capsules (Molnupiravir, trade name: Lizoril®/LAGEVRIO®), an oral anti-neo-coronavirus drug developed by Merck Sharp & Dohme in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotechnology, received emergency conditional approval from the State Drug Administration of China on December 29, 2022. At present, Merck Sharp & Dohme is actively stocking the drug to ensure the orderly supply of the drug.

Recently, we have noticed that some manufacturers are supplying NCCV drugs to some provinces and cities under the banner of “authorized by Merck Sharp & Dohme” and “donated by Merck Sharp & Dohme”, etc. We hereby solemnly declare that

The generic name of Merck Sharp & Dohme oral new crown drug is Monoravir capsule, the trade name is Lizoril®, there is no other Chinese name.
Merck Sharp & Dohme’s new crown drug is packaged in strict accordance with the state-approved documents and all products are assigned with drug traceability codes.

Ltd. is the sole and legally authorized importer of Merck Sharp & Dohme in China and is responsible for distribution to downstream distributors. Merck Sharp & Dohme has never authorized any other domestic manufacturer to manufacture or genericize monoprevir and supply it to the Chinese market.

In order to meet the needs of Chinese patients and help China fight against the new epidemic, Merck Sharp & Dohme has started negotiations with Sinopharm for the manufacturing technology license of monoprevir so that Sinopharm can manufacture and supply the drug in China in the future.

We strongly appeal and sincerely hope that all drug manufacturers/operators, drug procurement and sales platforms will respect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and work together to maintain a legal and fair business order in the domestic drug market. The production, quality and efficacy of drugs that are not approved by the national drug regulatory authorities cannot be guaranteed and pose great potential risks to patients’ drug use and medical safety. Merck Sharp & Dohme will take necessary legal measures against the infringement behavior of some drug companies.

Hereby declare!

Merck Sharp & Dohme (China) Investment Co.

January 11, 2023