Merck & Co. is set to receive $712 per treatment course for its COVID-19 antiviral pill from the U.S. government—even as it costs a fraction of that amount to produce and is reportedly on track for a price of $12 in India.
The gap between production costs and the price for molnupiravir is wide and emblematic of a problem that some say requires Congress or the U.S. government to intervene by implementing price caps, or utilizing so-called march-in rights. Others, though, warn that such measures would curb innovation and lead to fewer drugs coming onto the market.
