Croatian government authorized on Wednesday the head of Zagreb's Fran Mihaljevic Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Alemka Markotic, to sign an agreement on the procurement of a combination medicine for the treatment of Covid-19, manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche, state agency Hina notified the public.

After the European Commission enabled the procurement of the combination medicine, consisting of Casirivimab and Imdevimab, in negotiations with the drug producer, each EU member state must sign a separate agreement with the Roche subsidiary in the country of delivery.

Under the government’s decision, the medicine will be procured by 31 December.

Health Minister Vili Beros said that based on the epidemiological situation, the necessary monthly quantity of the drug was around 200 doses in the next nine-month period.

The price of the drug is €2,065 per dose, not including VAT, so the nine-month supply will cost HRK 29.29 million (€3.9 million), including VAT.

The necessary funds have been secured by the Croatian Health Insurance Institute, said Beroš.

The government today also decided to donate 305,922 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the countries most in need, in line with an estimate by the COVAX mechanism, with Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman saying global cooperation and solidarity were key to fighting the pandemic.