Merck Sharp & Dohme's new crown drug China offer is out, cheaper than Pfizer's and lower than other countries' prices

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As the second imported neo-crown small molecule oral drug listed in China, the first offer of Merck Sharp & Dohme Monoprevir capsules in China has been released, and the price of 1,500 yuan per bottle is lower than the price in major overseas countries.

On January 10, the official website of Tianjin Pharmaceutical Procurement Center released news that recently, the Office of the National Health Security Bureau issued the “New crown therapeutic drug price formation guidelines (for trial implementation)”, the innovative therapeutic drugs approved for listing from January 1, 2023 anti-new crown virus to take the first offer centralized acceptance. Hangzhou Merck Sharp & Dohme Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. took the initiative to refer to the relevant requirements and submitted the first offer and related information for the previously conditionally approved listing of Monoprevir capsules. Commissioned by the Tianjin Municipal Medical Security Bureau, the Tianjin Municipal Pharmaceutical Procurement Center is now the Hangzhou Merck Sharp & Dohme Pharmaceutical Co.

It is shown that: the first offer of Monoprevir capsules per bottle (40 capsules) is 1500 RMB, and the import c.i.f. price (excluding tax) is between 1100 and 1200 RMB, while in the United States, Japan, South Korea and other major countries is 712 USD.

Preliminarily, the monoprevir capsule offer per vial is lower than the price of Pfizer’s new crown oral drug Paxlovid, which has a provisional medical insurance payment price of 1,890 yuan per box in some parts of China.

Merzadone’s Monoprevir capsules are approved for similar indications as Pfizer’s Paxlovid in adult patients with new coronavirus who have high risk factors for progression to severe disease, specifically for the treatment of adults with mild to moderate novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) with high risk factors for progression to severe disease, such as advanced age, obesity or overweight, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, severe cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, active cancer, and other serious risk factors.

However, Merzadone Monoravir capsules are not the same target as Pfizer Paxlovid has chosen to develop, as the former belongs to RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibitors, which inhibit or clear the virus by blocking the synthesis of neo-coronavirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, while the latter belongs to 3CL protease inhibitors, which disrupt the neo-coronavirus 3CL protease activity by blocking the The latter belongs to the category of 3CL protease inhibitors, which disrupt the replication process of viral RNA by blocking the activity of neo-coronavirus 3CL protease.

Data show that Paxlovid administered within 3 or 5 days of symptom onset reduces the risk of neostriatal-related hospitalization or death by up to 89% and 88%, and that monoprevir reduces the risk of hospitalization/death by 30% to 50% and can reduce the risk of death by 89% to 100%.