Pfizer’s Covid antiviral drug Paxlovid is an important medicine. Doctors can prescribe it to help Covid patients significantly reduce their odds of hospitalization, death and long-term health problems. Despite its efficacy, it’s already not being prescribed as often as it probably should be.
That’s why it’s so depressing to hear that Pfizer is planning to price a five-day course of Paxlovid at $1,390 when it enters the commercial market later this year. That’s more than double the $529 it was charging the U.S. government, which has been purchasing the medicine from Pfizer since 2021 and freely providing it to patients. Harvard University researchers estimate the cost of production for a 5-day course of the drug is about $13.
[EXTERNAL LINK] - Opinion | Pfizer's Paxlovid price hike is a symptom of a deeper sickness
That’s why it’s so depressing to hear that Pfizer is planning to price a five-day course of Paxlovid at $1,390 when it enters the commercial market later this year. That’s more than double the $529 it was charging the U.S. government, which has been purchasing the medicine from Pfizer since 2021 and freely providing it to patients. Harvard University researchers estimate the cost of production for a 5-day course of the drug is about $13.
[EXTERNAL LINK] - Opinion | Pfizer's Paxlovid price hike is a symptom of a deeper sickness
