Why the US Is Buying 10 Million Covid Antiviral Pills

The 10 million pills seems insufficient for a country with a population of @335 million - and where 80% of the adult population has now received at least one vaccine shot. 

But it is a first step in a broader strategy designed to further restrict the pandemic's spread by acknowledging both that some people will never agree to vaccination and that some breakthrough cases will continue to occur. JL 

Jared Hopkins and Andrew Restuccia report in the Wall Street Journal:

Pfizer said it agreed to a $5.29 billion deal with the U.S. to provide enough supplies of its promising Covid-19 pill to treat 10 million people, should health regulators give it the green light. If either drug is authorized, the decision would be a major turning point in the treatment of Covid-19. People would take the therapies at home shortly after they first develop symptoms to be able to keep them from becoming hospitalized. Covid-19 antibody therapies cleared for use are largely administered in hospitals and physicians’ offices or given to patients with advanced forms of the disease.

Pfizer Inc. PFE +1.60% said Thursday it agreed to a $5.29 billion deal with the U.S. to provide enough supplies of its promising Covid-19 pill to treat 10 million people, should health regulators give it the green light.

The company’s antiviral drug, Paxlovid, is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a decision could come before the end of the year.

Under the terms of the deal, the government will pay about $529 for each course of treatment consisting of 30 pills over five days. Twice a day, patients would take two pills of Paxlovid and one pill of another antiviral called ritonavir.

The Paxlovid price is below the approximate $700 per course of treatment the U.S. agreed to pay for molnupiravir, an oral antiviral from Merck MRK -1.69% & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP that is also under review by the FDA. The U.S. has agreed to purchase 3.1 million courses of molnupiraivir for about $2.2 billion.

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If either drug is authorized, the decision would be a major turning point in the treatment of Covid-19. People would take the therapies at home shortly after they first develop symptoms to be able to keep them from becoming hospitalized. Covid-19 antibody therapies cleared for use are largely administered in hospitals and physicians’ offices or given to patients with advanced forms of the disease.

President Biden said the U.S. is making the purchase to be prepared if Paxlovid receives federal signoff.

“My administration is making the necessary preparations now to ensure these treatments will be easily accessible and free,” Mr. Biden said. “This is positive news. This treatment could prove to be another critical tool in our arsenal that will accelerate our path out of the pandemic.”

Should regulators clear Paxlovid, Pfizer would begin delivery of the drug this year and continue through next year, according to the company and Mr. Biden.

Pfizer has said it would use a tiered pricing system for Paxlovid, similar to its Covid-19 vaccine, in that wealthier countries would pay more than low and middle-income countries.

Pfizer discovered Paxlovid in its own laboratories. In a late-stage study, Paxlovid was found by researchers to be safe and cut the risk of hospitalization or death in high-risk people with mild to moderate Covid-19 by about 89% if they took the pill within three days of diagnosis.

“It is encouraging to see a growing understanding of the valuable role that oral investigational therapies may play in combating Covid-19, and we look forward to continuing discussions with governments around the world to help ensure broad access for people everywhere,” said Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla.

The U.S. supply deal follows several others the drugmaker has struck with wealthy countries, including the U.K., Australia and South Korea. Those deals have sparked criticism by some health experts that early access to Covid-19 oral antivirals may be limited to rich countries, similarly with Covid-19 vaccines.

Earlier this week Pfizer said it was licensing out Paxlovid to the Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed nonprofit that will work with generic manufacturers to produce and distribute it to nearly 100 low- and middle-income countries.