US to buy 10m courses of Pfizer’s pill for $5.3bn

Published November 19, 2021
Paxlovid, Pfizer's coronavirus disease pill, is seen manufactured in Freiburg, Germany, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on November 16. — Reuters/File
Paxlovid, Pfizer's coronavirus disease pill, is seen manufactured in Freiburg, Germany, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on November 16. — Reuters/File

WASHINGTON: Pfizer Inc said on Thursday the US government would pay $5.29 billion for 10 million courses of its experimental Covid anti-viral drug.

The deal is for around twice as many treatment courses as Merck & Co Inc has agreed to supply the United States under its contract. The price for the Pfizer pill is nearly 25 percent lower at roughly $530 per course, compared with about $700 for Merck’s.

Pfizer applied for emergency authorisation of the drug, branded as Paxlovid, this week after reporting data showing that it was 89 percent effective at preventing hospitalisation or death in at-risk people.

“While this pill still requires a full review by the Food and Drug Administration, I have taken immediate steps to secure enough supply for the American people,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. He added that his administration was making preparations to ensure the treatment is easily accessible and free. Getting vaccinated should still be the priority for Americans but having pills that can keep people out of the hospital “could be a lifesaver”, said US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.

Pfizer has said it expects to manufacture 180,000 treatment courses by the end of next month and at least 50 million courses by the end of next year.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Ultimate price
Updated 02 Nov, 2024

Ultimate price

To dismantle culture of impunity for crimes against journalists, state must ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.
Mastung bombing
02 Nov, 2024

Mastung bombing

INSTABILITY continues to haunt Balochistan, as Friday morning’s bombing in Mastung has shown. At least nine...
Plane speak
02 Nov, 2024

Plane speak

DESPITE all its efforts to facilitate PIA’s privatisation, it seems the government only ended up being taken for a...
Seeking investment
Updated 01 Nov, 2024

Seeking investment

Foreign visits will be fruitless unless crucial structural, policy reforms directly affecting investors are focused.
State-backed terror
01 Nov, 2024

State-backed terror

OVER the past year or so, India’s reportedly malign activities in foreign countries have increasingly come under the radar, with
Shared crisis
01 Nov, 2024

Shared crisis

WITH Lahore experiencing unprecedented levels of smog, the Punjab government has announced a series of “green...