Paxlovid is coming! Pfizer: introduced to China in the first half of the year Partners to start production soon

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U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. is working with a Chinese partner to offer the new crown treatment oral drug Paxlovid in China starting in the first half of this year, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said Monday.

The Chinese partner has not yet started production but will do so soon, Bourla said Monday at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, without disclosing the name of the company. He also denied a Reuters report last week that some companies were working to manufacture and sell a generic version of Paxlovid in China.

He said in an interview that Pfizer is working to provide more Paxlovid to China, “We are working with China and we are trying to understand what their policies and needs are. Right now, they have a lot of interest in Paxlovid. Our production line is also working to secure supply for this phase.”

Paxlovid, a SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor antiviral therapy containing two components, Nirmatrelvir (nematavir) and Ritonavir (ritonavir), entered the mainland China market on February 11 last year with emergency conditional approval from the State Drug Administration.

On December 14 last year, Pfizer announced that it signed a 2023 Paxlovid import distribution agreement with China Pharmaceuticals, which will be responsible for the import and distribution of Paxlovid in the mainland China market during the term of the agreement.

In fact, since the liberalization of anti-epidemic measures at the end of last year, the market has seen a surge in demand for new crown treatment drugs, including Paxlovid. Currently, Paxlovid has entered community hospitals in some cities and is prescribed by doctors for use.

However, according to the People’s Daily Health Client, Paxlovid has been out of the 2022 national health insurance catalog negotiations, and its health insurance payment price is 1,890 yuan per box (30 capsules in total). According to the person in charge of the National Health Insurance Bureau, the main reason for the unsuccessful negotiation of Paxlovid is the “high price quoted”, but he also said that although Paxlovid was not included in the medical insurance catalog through the negotiation, the medical insurance will still pay temporarily until March 31, 2023. This also means that after March 1 this year, patients need to pay for Paxlovid if they need to use it.

On January 8, the head of the National Medical Security Bureau, Department of Pharmaceutical Management, said in the introduction of the new crown treatment drugs to participate in the negotiation of the medical insurance drug catalog, this year, a total of Azulfidine tablets, nematovir tablets / ritonavir tablets combination package (Paxlovid), lung detoxification particles 3 new crown treatment drugs through the enterprise independent declaration, form review, expert evaluation and other procedures, to participate in the negotiations. Among them, Azulfidine tablets, lung detoxification granules negotiations were successful, Paxlovid because the manufacturer Pfizer investment offer high and unsuccessful.