UK government buys Merck ‘Covid’ pill – Bill Gates to spend $120 million to speed access to generic version. Moral of both stories: Don’t touch it with a bargepole

Sajid Javid today revealed the Government has bought hundreds of thousands of game-changing pills to treat Covid that infected Brits can take at home this winter.

Officials have bought 480,000 doses of molnupiravir, an antiviral made by US pharmaceutical company Merck and 250,000 courses of PF-073 from Pfizer, the drug giant behind the vaccine currently deployed for the UK’s booster drive.

Officials did not disclose how much the Department of Health paid but American health chiefs spent $1.2billion (£869million) on 1.7million molnupiravir pills this summer. If the drugs are priced the same in Britain they are likely to cost around £250million — even though they are thought to cost just £12 to make.

Read more: UK government buys Merck ‘Covid’ pill – Bill Gates to spend $120 million to speed access to generic version. Moral of both stories: Don’t touch it with a bargepole

Gates Foundation to Spend $120 Million to Speed Access to Generics of Merck Covid-19 Pill

Read more: Gates Foundation to Spend $120 Million to Speed Access to Generics of Merck Covid-19 Pill