The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation today pledged up to $120 million to help low-income countries accelerate access to Monopivir, an antiviral drug under development, as part of the foundation's efforts to fight the COVID-19 epidemic.

Since the outbreak of the new crown, the Gates Foundation has provided $1.9 billion to improve access to vaccines, treatment and testing to support research and development, regulation, risk production and product delivery.

Melinda French Gates (Melinda French Gates), co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "to end this pandemic, we need to make sure that everyone, no matter where they live in the world, has access to life-saving drugs. However, the unfair reality is that low-income countries have to wait, from personal protective equipment to vaccines. This is unacceptable. "

"the commitment we make today will ensure that more people in more countries have access to this promising drug, but that is far from enough-we need more donors, including other foundations and governments, to act." Melinda Frankie Gates added.

Monopivir isMerckA drug being developed in partnership with Ridgeback Biopharmaceuticals. The Foundation will consult with partners on how to use the funds to support the development and production of Monopeville imitation pharmaceuticals. Preliminary data disclosed by Merck & Co Inc show that Monopivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug that can halve the risk of severe illness and death caused by the COVID-19 virus.

Monopivir is expected to be the first outpatient oral drug approved for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients-a major breakthrough that will reduce hospitalization and, combined with increased vaccination rates and existing treatments for severe and critical patients, save more lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) and government regulators will finally decide whether to approve the use of Monopivir.