Swiss government funds four new Covid treatment drugs
Four Swiss-based companies will received state funding to develop a range of new drugs to treat coronavirus, which are expected to be available by the end of 2022.
The contracts were signed in the context of the Federal Funding Programme for Covid-19 Medicines, run by the Federal Office for Public Health (FOPH) and the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse, the government said on MondayExternal link.
The total value of the four deals is CHF27 million ($29.2 million).
The projects aim to treat a range of the symptoms caused by a Covid-19 infection and to mitigate the length and severity of illness.
Two of the drugs are monoclonal antibody treatments: one for the neuropsychiatric symptoms in sufferers of long Covid, and the other for use on patients at risk of a severe course of Covid-19. A third project is developing an oral pulmonary vasodilator which makers hope will prevent respiratory failure and reduce the need for artificial ventilation.
A final project is an antiviral and anti-inflammatory to treat “all severities of Covid-19”.
Switzerland will enjoy “certain benefits” in return for its investment, the government stated. This includes having a first option on purchases of the drugs.
The government’s medical procurement capabilities to tackle the coronavirus pandemic come under the remit of the Covid-19 law, approved for a second time by voters in a nationwide referendum two weeks ago.
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.