Strides Pharma Science Ltd., a global pharmaceutical company, today announced a sub-license agreement with MPP to commercialize a generic version of Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral treatment in 95 low and middle-income markets.

Developed by Pfizer, the treatment is a SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor oral antiviral therapy. The drug consists of nirmatrelvir tablets which are co-packaged and co-administered with ritonavir tablets. The product has been authorized as a Covid-19 oral therapy for emergency use in the U.S. and many other countries, both amongst high-risk adults and high-risk pediatric patients.

Branded as Kovidax, Strides’ generic version of the Pfizer oral treatment will be launched in 95 markets as part of the sub-licensing agreement with MPP. The product will be manufactured at Strides’ flagship facility in Bengaluru, and the Company has already secured its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) supplies through a preferred partnership arrangement.

Arun Kumar, Founder, Strides Pharma Science Limited said:

Kovidax is the latest addition to our covid care portfolio and is part of our commitment to produce high-quality medicines to fight the challenges of Covid-19 outbreak around the world. We are glad to collaborate with MPP to commercialize the generic version of the Pfizer product and reach out to the global markets. Our forte lies in the scalability and affordability, and we are hopeful of maximizing the reach for Kovidax in a short period.

The Pfizer COVID-19 oral treatment has been shown to have reduced the risk of hospitalization or death for any cause by 89% within three days of symptom onset compared to placebo. It is administered as a dose of 300 mg of nirmatrelvir with 100 mg tablet of ritonavir, given twice daily for five days. The FDA’s emergency use authorization for the oral treatment is based on the clinical data from the Phase 2/3 EPIC-HR (Evaluation of Protease Inhibition for COVID-19 in High-Risk Patients) trial conducted by Pfizer.