Federal government negotiating to buy new antiviral pills to fight Covid

Antiviral pills that reduce the impact of Covid and make people less infectious may soon be available in Australia, with the government expected to sign an agreement within days.

Pills that promise to reduce the impact of Covid-19 while also making people less infectious may soon be available in Australia, with the federal government expected to sign a “pre-purchase agreement” within days.

Talks have been under way between federal health authorities and several pharmaceutical companies about securing supplies of Covid therapy drugs which are in development around the world.

The drugs, which include antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, are being touted as a supplementary means of ­reducing the impact of Covid along with vaccination. The medications are understood to reduce illness and the infectiousness of positive cases.

Health Minister Greg Hunt says the federal government is keen to buy safe new Covid treatments as soon as they become available.

While the government has already secured access to treatments such as remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral medication, the newer drugs will not necessarily have to be taken in hospital settings.

A pharmaceutical industry source said the goal was to ­develop a drug for people who had been advised they had ­become a “close contact”. They would then take the pill to ­reduce their viral loads — and infectiousness — and reduce their chances of falling ill.

While these drugs would not replace vaccination, they would help prevent the spread of Covid to people who may be ­unable to be vaccinated.

The US government has been pouring billions of dollars into programs to support the development of Covid-19 antiviral pills, while also entering into a pre-purchase agreement to secure 1.7 million courses of a product from pharmaceutical company Merck & Co, which is known as MSD in Australia.

A statement from MSD confirmed it was among the companies in discussions with the federal government about its antiviral drug development.

“MSD Australia has had productive discussions with the Australian Department of Health about our Covid-19 ­investigative oral antiviral candidate, which is currently being studied for the treatment of non-hospitalised patients with Covid-19,” it said.

“A global phase 3 clinical trial is currently under way and results … will be shared with Australian health authorities as soon as the data is ready.”

It is not known if MSD is among the companies with which the federal government is set to sign a pre-purchase deal. Other companies known to be developing Covid therapy pills include Pfizer and Roche.

A spokesman for Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government was committed to supporting early access to safe and effective Covid-19 treatments “as soon as they become available”.

“The Australian government has invested in millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines and secured access to novel Covid-19 treatments such as remdesivir,” he said.

“Australia is working clo­sely with the researchers and manufacturers of other promising new treatments for Covid-19 that are in development.”

UNDER-40S FLOCK TO GET AZ JABS

Young people in NSW are driving up demand for AstraZeneca, with new national figures showing almost 7000 under-40s receiving the vaccine in 24 hours.

The vaccination figure for Friday was the highest in the age group since June 29.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

The figures come amid ongoing debate ­between the state and federal governments on vaccine ­supply.

The NSW government wants addit­ional supplies of Pfizer to meet an unmet demand in the community.

Reluctant to take supplies from the other states and territories, the federal government has offered an additional 50,000 doses from its reserves along with an extra 90,000 to be ­delivered each week.

The feds also noted that 800,000 doses of AstraZeneca have been allocated to NSW, but have not been “ordered” to be moved across.

Asked about the AstraZen­eca doses, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it did not make sense to move vaccines “from one fridge to another” unless they were going to be used.

He said the doses needed to go to GPs and pharmacies who had complained they were not getting enough.

“Right now, our focus is getting those AstraZeneca vaccines into pharmacies and GP practices who have complained they are not getting enough vaccine,” he said.

“We are happy for any of the vaccines to be going in to arms, because until we get enough people vaccinated, we won’t get back to the lives we all want.”

The latest vaccination figures show that just over 81,000 people aged under 40 have received the AstraZeneca vaccine since June 29, with more than 34,000 getting a jab in the past week. On Friday, 8325 young adults under 40 ­received an AstraZeneca, jab with 6838 of those in NSW.

Originally published as Federal government negotiating to buy new antiviral pills to fight Covid