Paxlovid. For Shame, Pfizer to Charge $1,390 for Lifesaving Covid Drug That Costs Just $13
- Common Dreams, Oct. 19, 2023. Ed. -Pfizer treats Paxlovid like a Prada handbag; a luxury for the few rather than a treatment for the many," said one consumer advocate.
U.S. consumer watchdog Public Citizen on Thursday excoriated Pfizer after the pharmaceutical giant announced it would more than double the price of a lifesaving Covid-19 treatment, which will soon sell for an estimated 100 times the cost of production.
Pfizer said Wednesday that it will price its patented Covid treatment nirmatrelvir-ritonavir—sold under the brand name Paxlovid—at $1,390 for a 5 -day course. Researchers Melissa J. Barber and Dzintars Gotham recently estimated it costs Pfizer $13 to produce 5 days' worth of the drug, which is taken in 3-pill doses.
"Pfizer's new price is an estimated 100 times the cost of production," Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, said in a statement. "Pfizer chose to double its U.S. price just as pandemic funding falters and the precarious winter viral season begins." It's also more than 2.5 times the federal government's purchase price for Paxlovid.
The government has bought and distributed the antiviral drug to the public free of charge since December 2021.. Starting next year, Pfizer will sell Paxlovid directly to health insurance companies. "Pfizer has made tens of billions in Paxlovid sales, largely through major government purchases," Maybarduk noted.."Pfizer chose to double its U.S. price..This will strain health budgets and contribute to further treatment rationing."...
- Read More, https://www.commondreams.org/news/pfizer-paxlovid
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