A drug hard to find the new crown oral drug Paxlovid: a number of netizens said that the purchase of drugs encountered fraud some scalpers will be a box of drugs speculation to tens of thousands of dollars

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On February 11 of this year, when the State Drug Administration granted emergency conditional approval for the import registration of Pfizer’s new oral coronavirus drug Paxlovid, many people would not have expected that Paxlovid would become “hard to find” at the end of the year.

With the recent rapid increase in the number of new coronavirus infections, demand for Paxlovid, a new oral coronavirus drug recommended by the WHO for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate risk of hospitalization, has surged.

Jing Zhang’s (pseudonym) grandmother has been hospitalized for a week with neo-coronavirus infection and is currently experiencing symptoms of pneumonia. After learning about Paxlovid, Zhang Jing sought Paxlovid through multiple channels, first spending 2,380 yuan to buy a box of Paxlovid’s Indian generic, and later spending 2,640 yuan to grab a box of the original drug on a pharmaceutical e-commerce platform. However, she is still undecided whether to give Paxlovid to her grandmother because she missed the best time to take the drug.

But not all those in need are as successful as Zhang Jing in buying the original Paxlovid drug. The Daily Economic News reporter recently investigated and found that the price of Paxlovid has soared in the underground market, with some scalpers offering tens of thousands of yuan for a box. In the case of not being able to buy the original drug, some people retreated to the Indian generic version of Paxlovid, but the price of a box of generic drugs is also about 2,500 yuan, and a number of agents said there is no stock, payment will be arranged for delivery only a few days later. In addition, a number of netizens said they were cheated when purchasing the drug.

Pfizer’s new crown oral drug Paxlovid, a drug hard to find

Zhang Jing, a graduate student, returned home to a prefecture-level city in Shandong Province in early December. She did not know when she was “positive”, but two days after the antigen turned negative, on December 20, her grandmother developed a fever with a temperature of 39 degrees. Zhang Jing’s grandmother had an underlying disease and was older, so the family rushed her to the local hospital. After being hospitalized, her grandmother’s condition remained bleak, sometimes experiencing blurred consciousness and starting to have a low fever every day in the afternoon. “For the family, it was a big test, a hard battle.” Zhang Jing said.

Zhang Jing had been caring for her grandmother in the hospital, and seeing that she hadn’t improved after a week in the hospital, on the recommendation of a friend, Zhang Jing started looking for a source where she could buy Paxlovid. The local hospital could not buy Paxlovid, but hospitals in neighboring cities could provide the drug, but you had to be hospitalized. In desperation, Zhang Jing bought a box of Paxlovid’s Indian generic Primovir for 2,380 yuan through a drug agent.

Respondent Zhang Jing purchased the generic drug (green box)

On the morning of Dec. 27, Zhang Jing said excitedly in a WeChat group, “I grabbed Pfizer’s Paxlovid, grab it!” The day before, after learning that a pharmaceutical e-commerce platform would release some Paxlovid every morning at 10 a.m., she entered the fever clinic of the platform’s Internet hospital and sent a message prepared in advance: senior citizen with a positive diagnosis, underlying disease, good kidney function, seeking for Pfizer Paxlovid. when the doctor intended to prescribe her the drug, she found that Paxlovid was already sold out. The next morning, a few minutes short of ten, Zhang Jing urged her doctor to prescribe the drug in advance, and this time she finally succeeded in getting Paxlovid.

Zhang Jing’s grandmother is still in the hospital and has developed symptoms of pneumonia. Zhang Jing consulted with a respiratory doctor at a hospital in the city, who told her she could take it. She said she felt very sad and self-conscious because she “felt that it was too late to grab the medicine.”

On February 11 this year, after the State Drug Administration approved the import registration of Paxlovid with conditions, China Pharmaceutical (SH600056, share price 19.12 yuan, market value 28.6 billion yuan) signed a supply agreement with Pfizer on March 9, which will be responsible for the commercial operation of Paxlovid in the Chinese market during the agreement period. After the expiration of the said supply agreement, China Pharmaceutical recently announced that the two parties renegotiated and signed an import distribution agreement on Dec. 14. China Pharmaceuticals also said that as of the end of November 2022, preliminary statistics of the sales scale of this business accounted for less than 1.5% of the company’s operating income in the first three quarters, which did not have a significant impact on the company’s operating results in the current period.

Recently, there was news that 1Pharma.com’s Internet hospital’s New Crown Consulting Clinic started selling Paxlovid, priced at 2,980 yuan per box, but after the news fermented, 1Pharma.com took Paxlovid off the shelves. There is also news that Beijing plans to allocate Paxlovid in various community hospitals, and several community health centers in Beijing said they do not have the drug yet, but have received training notices. According to the Surfing News interview, Pfizer established cooperation with Jingdong Health and Jianke Doctor, patients can obtain electronic prescriptions through online consultation and purchase with prescriptions. on December 28, the reporter found that the Medical Union Internet Hospital also shelved Paxlovid, priced at 2,980 yuan/box, but when the reporter tried to prescribe the drug, he was prompted to “today’s limited quantity is full “.

In fact, as a prescription drug, not all patients with new coronary artery disease are suitable for taking Paxlovid, which is used to treat adults with mild to moderate new coronary artery disease (COVID-19) with high risk factors for progression to severe disease, such as advanced age, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease and other high risk factors for severe disease.

Professor Jin Dongyan of the University of Hong Kong School of Biomedical Sciences has told reporters that mild and asymptomatic patients do not need to take new crown oral medication, and new crown oral medication to grab time with the virus, if the medication is too late, the therapeutic effect of the drug will diminish.

A number of netizens claim to have been cheated in purchasing the drug, and some scalpers speculated a box of drugs to tens of thousands of yuan

In the case of Paxlovid a drug is difficult to find, the reporter recently investigated and found that in the underground market, Paxlovid prices soared, some scalpers offer tens of thousands of yuan a box. In the case of not being able to buy the original drug, many people retreat to the Indian generic version of Paxlovid, but a number of netizens have been cheated when purchasing the drug.

In the afternoon of December 27, the reporter contacted a drug agent as a purchaser, who asked the reporter if he was “Yang”, if he was vaccinated, how old he was, if he had underlying diseases, and if he had liver and kidney problems. The company said, “It’s too late to buy it if it’s already ‘Yang’, the drug needs to be taken immediately after Yang, more than three days before taking it will have little effect.” In the drug publicity picture it sent, it is written, “the conditions can be prepared for the elderly at home, there is no harm.”

The drug agent also said that it has “green box” (Primovir) and “blue box” (Paxista) two Paxlovid generic drugs, which ‘green box The ‘green box’ is 2500 yuan a box, the ‘blue box’ is 2700 yuan a box, but there is no stock, to pay 3 to 7 days after the delivery. It said, “The spot immediately glowed as soon as it arrived in the country.”

Another agent also said there is no stock, only accept reservations, and can only book the “green box”, the price of 1,900 yuan a box. In his WeChat circle of friends, he will send a “blue box” price increase information almost every day. He told the reporter, “blue box big factory production, green box small factory production, the effect is no difference”. But when the reporter contacted him again the next day, he said he was completely out of stock, do not accept reservations, but can help find a box of high-priced “green box”, the price of 3,600 yuan. Under further questioning by the reporter, he said he was not sure when the supply would be sufficient, but also said that someone had approached him to buy a box of “blue box” for 15,000 yuan.

The “Green Box” and “Blue Box” are both generic versions of Paxlovid, and the information on the drug box shows that the “Blue Box” (Paxista) is manufactured by Azista The information on the drug box shows that the “Blue Box” (Paxista) is manufactured by Azista Industries. In the picture of the “green box” (Primovir) sent by Zhang Jing, the box only says that Astrica HealthCare is responsible for sales, the reporter found the company’s store in an Indian e-commerce platform, but did not find Primovir drugs in the company’s store. In addition, some netizens said that there are already a variety of versions of the “green box” in China, it is difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.

Generic drugs are already in short supply, and the original drug is speculated to tens of thousands of yuan. A Shanghai citizen told reporters that she bought a box of Paxlovid original drug from a scalper some time ago, at a price of 9,500 yuan. Subsequently, the reporter contacted a scalper as a drug buyer, who said that the number of original drugs is very tight, the price of 15,000 yuan a box.

The reporter noticed that a number of netizens were cheated for seeking generic versions of Paxlovid. On a social networking platform, several netizens claimed to have the original drug of Paxlovid at a price of 2,500 yuan a box, and the drug was shipped from Hong Kong, China, but they needed to place an order from the official website, and they sent a web link to the reporter. However, when the reporter clicked on the link, he was redirected to a webpage called “Zitai Pharmaceuticals Ltd”.

In fact, this is a high-fashion website, and the official website of Zitai Pharmaceuticals has been openly “counterfeited”. A prominent statement has appeared on the official website of Chitai Pharmaceuticals: Recently, we have discovered that there are impostors claiming to be able to provide New Crown drugs on the website of Chitai, and the deceived customers have reported to the police.

In addition, when the reporter expressed to the customer service of the high-fashion website that he wanted to purchase the drug, the message sent by the customer service said that “each user will have his own exclusive number and will receive 6% cash rebate of the invitee’s purchase amount after the successful recommendation and invitation to purchase”. At present, some netizens say they have chosen to call the police.