And so, from about 2010 to mid-2013, I was pretty skeptical about CEO Clark's motivations in running Merck. Over a period of about six subsequent years, Kenneth Frazier convinced me that while the company is fairly interested in making profits -- it is also increasingly mindful of its role as a life saving medicine provider / steward / citizen of a global community, too.
So it is with considerable chagrin -- that I must note here, under new 2021 CEO Rob Davis, the company has "won" a mention in the Lown Institute's Annual Shkreli Awards. [Prior "winners" include Jared Kushner, and the Sackler family.]
Whether I agree with the assessment or not, is of no moment -- I will report it, especially since I have been unsparingly critical of Shkreli himself. Here is the link, and the part pertaining to Merck:
. . .Drug manufacturer Merck’s pill molnupiravir was recently approved for emergency use to treat Covid-19 in the US, after it was shown to modestly reduce the risk of hospitalization or deaths in people with mild Covid-19. What’s the catch? Merck charged the US government $712 for a five-day course of the drug, although it costs only $18 to produce and was created using millions in government funding, according to The Intercept. Emory University originally developed this drug as a possible treatment for a mosquito-borne virus, aided by nearly $30 million in government grants.
Merck has granted a royalty-free license for molnupiravir for use in low- and middle-income countries, but the company still stands to make $5-7 billion from the drug. . . .
Now you know -- and I do think the estimate of what the company will make on molnupiravir is. . . considerably too low. With Covid-19 variants still to be with us for perhaps two more years. . . I'd double the estimate: $10 to $12 billion, all in. Onward.
नमस्ते
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