Following a tender, 800,000 tablets of Molena 200mg, a generic of Molnupiravir produced by Emcure Pharmaceuticals in India, were purchased at Rs 9.30 per unit as on 06 December from Mauritius Pharmacy (Seegobin) Ltd, at a cost of Rs 7,446,000, but as on 07 December, Molcovir, another generic of Molnupiravir produced by Optimus Pharma in India, was purchased for Rs 79.90 per unit from CPN Distributors Ltd of Montagne Longue for an order of 999,000 tablets, at exactly Rs 79,840,080.
This pill may be very hard to swallow! While the news was welcomed as redemptive when it was announced on 09 December by the Prime Minister in his message to the Nation, and even very salutary during the explanations on its use and distribution by Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal, the Minister of Health as well as by Dr. Reesaul at the National Communications Committee, held on the same Friday shortly before the parliamentary session. Xavier Luc Duval, the Leader of the Opposition comes out, this ‘Biggest Scandal of 2021’, in the parliament during his PNQ on the drug which is certified to treat patients from Covid 19 and has 30% in terms of mortality and severity of effects during hospitalization.
Unsolicited Bid
The Opposition Leader blames Minister Jagutpal for concluding this offer after an Unsolicited Bid at 70 times the price of the deal concluded the day before. He even argues that the minister should have heard or modified this contract with Mauritius Pharmacy Ltd because CPN Distributors Ltd of Montagne Longue “should not be considered for such bids as the company was approved last June, and according to Section 5.3.C of the Public Procurement Amendment Regulations 2021 approved by the Council of Ministers, it does not have a track record,” revealed Xavier Luc Duval.
A question of reception time
Namely, this shipment of 999,000 Molnupiravir has already been received on Thursday 09 December and is already in use in our hospitals. The Minister defended himself on the point of the date of receipt of this drug but also its availability on the market, “We should also look at the time… Should we wait for the drugs to be received in Mauritius at a later time, when we know that there are so many people tested positive and the current rate of deaths,” he retorted pointing out that if he had opted for the cheaper one, the same opposition leader would have asked him about the reverse.
Dr Kailesh Jagutpal maintains that every negotiation was done legally and that the determining factor in this order was indeed time, “of all the 5 companies approached, there is none that could bring us Molnupiravir by December 09. Mauritius Pharmacy has indicated that it will only be able to supply the drug from 15 December and it is only CPN Distributors that has managed to deliver by that time,” he revealed. Following the allegations against him and his ministry, Dr. Kailesh Jagutal invited the opposition leader to take his complaints to the ICAC.
Request for a Select Committee
The Opposition Leader called for a Select Committee to investigate the purchase of the drug, CPN Distributors Ltd, and all purchases made in relation to the pandemic since its outbreak in March 2020. He said during his press conference after his NQP. “By some miracle, the mentioned company already had this stock. It is the ministry that has to give approval for the import of this drug. The other pharmacies have received approval for smaller quantities. Hyper Pharma is expected to bring in 1.2 million of the drug on Friday. Will so much stock be consumed knowing that the expiry date is the end of 2022?”
For the public, Molnupiravir will be available over the counter in all approved pharmacies at various prices.
