From the front page of Le Monde, to the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and others, research demonstrating that potential COVID-19 treatments can be mass-produced for around $1 a day, or less, has been creating headlines.
ITPC’s Make Medicines Affordable campaign supported the research, which was carried out by the University of Liverpool and published in the Journal of Virus Eradication.
Several existing drugs are being tested in clinical trials around the world, in the hope that they can be repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19.
While no drugs have been proven effective as of yet, all countries need to know that they can access them quickly and affordably if they do.
The problem is: “Prices for potential treatments are far higher than the actual cost of production” – as the Financial Times reported.
Le Monde ran the story front page, followed by a full page spread. Read here in French.
Here’s a roundup of the some of the coverage, by language, that you can read and share.
Arabic
- Mwatan: منظمة طبية دولية تزف بشرى سارة حول أسعار الأدوية المحتملة لكورونا
- Saada Online: «أطباء بلا حدود»: أسعار الأدوية المحتملة لكورونا في المتناول
Chinese
- Liberty Times Net: 武漢肺炎》藥商發大財？ 研究：潛在藥物成本低至1美元 (Research: Potential drug costs as low as $ 1”)
English
- Bloomberg: Treatments being studied sell for hundreds of times their cost
- Al Jazeera: Demand for coronavirus meds could fast outstrip supply
- Reuters: Coronavirus drug hopefuls are cheap to make but may be in short supply.
This was republished by the New York Times and other publications, from Mexico to Switzerland to Japan. - Science mag: Would be coronavirus drugs are cheap to make
“Rationing drugs because of high prices and limited supply will only serve to prolong the pandemic. What good is a lifesaving drug if you can’t afford it?” – Jessica Burry, a pharmacist with MSF/Doctors Without Borders.
- Gulf news: COVID-19: $1 price tag possible on potential coronavirus drugs
- STAT: Some drugs being tested as Covid-19 treatments could be very cheap to make
- Mint Press News: New Research Shows Anti-Coronavirus Drugs Could Be Produced for Pennies
French
- Le Monde: Coronavirus : des chercheurs estiment le coût de certains traitements potentiels à 1 dollar par jour
- Urban Fusions: Les médicaments Covid-19 pourraient être fabriqués pour 1 $ par jour, selon des universitaires
- Ze Magazine: Les médicaments contre les coronavirus potentiels sont bon marché
Indonesian
- Fajar Indonesia Network: Harga Vaksin Corona Mencemaskan
Korean
- Green Economic Newspaper: [정종오 칼럼] 코로나19 빈익빈 부익부
Spanish
- El Periodico De Mexico: A translation of the Reuters article
Turkish
- Yeni Şafak: Koronavirüs tedavisinde kullanılan ilaçların satış fiyatı maliyetinin çok üstünde (“The price of the drugs used in the treatment of coronavirus is far above the cost”)
Vietnamese
- Lao Dong: Translation of the Bloomberg article
