Merck, Pfizer rebuff China’s push for deeper price cuts on Covid-19 drugs
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Talks to cut the cost in China of Paxlovid, Pfizer's anti-viral medication to treat Covid-19, failed at the weekend.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK – Top US makers of Covid-19 drugs appear to be pushing back on China’s efforts to get them to cut their prices, underscoring the challenges the country faces in giving its vast population easy access to antivirals.
Merck’s molnupiravir, also known as Lagevrio, will sell in China for 1,500 yuan (S$295) per bottle, local media outlet Jiemian reported on Tuesday, citing sources it did not identify.
While that is lower than the cost in many Western countries, the price signals that the United States drug firm did not agree to a request by the Chinese authorities to cut the price further, it said.
The company did not respond to Bloomberg News’ e-mailed request for comment on the Chinese media report.
The apparent rebuff coincides with a similar deadlock over Pfizer’s antiviral Paxlovid. Talks between the drugmaker and the Chinese agency
The pricing deadlock reflects China’s quandary as it is plunged into the biggest virus outbreak in the world after dismantling curbs in December.
As its vast population clamours for treatments, China’s home-grown Covid-19 therapies face questions around efficacy and safety, while access to foreign, best-in-class ones are largely on Western pharmaceutical companies’ terms.
The lack of treatment supply has also intensified public anger that the Chinese government did not adequately prepare for its abrupt shift in virus control.
At a briefing held in Beijing on Wednesday, an official from the National Healthcare Security Administration, which negotiates with drug companies once a year for state insurance coverage, said it is regrettable that Paxlovid did not get coverage due to pricing factors, but provisional measures will ensure it is reimbursed through the end of March.
He also said there were several Covid-19 antiviral candidates seeking regulatory approval, which could potentially expand treatment options.
State medical insurance provides sole coverage for an overwhelming majority of the country’s 1.4 billion people, and the programme reimburses the use of approved Covid-19 medicines including Paxlovid and Lagevrio until the end of March.
While China has managed to persuade global drugmakers to lower prices to be included in the insurance list in the past, the lack of agreement on Covid-19 pill costs throws into question whether the drugs will continue to be covered.
With fierce demand for Covid-19 therapies across China, the companies appear to believe that sales will still be strong, even if they’re booted off the state coverage list.
Pfizer’s chief executive Albert Bourla said earlier this week that if insurance coverage lapses, the firm is willing to continue selling Paxlovid on the private market. China’s demand for a lower price than what middle-income countries pay was unacceptable to the company, he said.
“They are the second-biggest economy in the world, and I don’t think that they should pay less than El Salvador, which is a poor country,” he added.
Public anger has been growing in China over the difficulty in accessing Covid-19 drugs. A shortage of antivirals has already prompted some people in China to turn to the black market, often paying much higher prices for potentially low-quality medicines. Mr Bourla said Pfizer’s Chinese partner will start domestic Paxlovid production soon. The drug has so far been imported from overseas by state-owned China Meheco while Chinese generic drug giant Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical has a deal with Pfizer to make Paxlovid ingredients locally. BLOOMBERG
