Pfizer plans to charge nearly $1,400 for Paxlovid
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Pfizer will list its COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid at a price of $1,390 per five-day course when it soon hits the commercial market, the drugmaker confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: Paxlovid's new listed price, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will be more than twice the $529 paid by the federal government, which until now has maintained the entire U.S. supply of the key antiviral medication.
Between the lines: As is the case with most drugs, the list price is not necessarily what most patients will pay. It is still important, however, because it can affect what uninsured patients pay, as well as how much insured patients may pay out of pocket.
- Health care advocates, expecting that Pfizer would raise the price when it reached the commercial market, have warned that patients may have a tougher time accessing the drug.
What they're saying: "Pricing for PAXLOVID is based on the value it provides to patients, providers, and health care systems due to its important role in helping reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths," a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Axios.
- Pfizer said it is making efforts to ensure affordability, working with health care payers to "achieve the best possible formulary placement" for the drug to lower out-of-pocket costs for patients.
- Pfizer also said the Paxlovid labeled under emergency use authorization will remain free to all patients until the end of the year. Paxlovid will also remain free to patients on Medicare and Medicaid, as well as uninsured patients, until the end of 2024 through a government program.
- Under a recent agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services, Pfizer will operate a patient-assistance program for uninsured and underinsured patients from 2025-2028 with Paxlovid procured by HHS.
- It will also run a copay assistance program for privately insured patients through 2028. Patients will pay "as little as $0," the company's statement said.
Catch up quick: In May, the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval of Paxlovid, making it the first oral antiviral pill to be approved for adults at high risk for getting severely ill from COVID-19.
- However, as the pandemic has waned, Pfizer has reported sales of its COVID vaccine and the antiviral have dropped over the last year. Paxlovid sales are expected to be down 58% in 2023 compared to 2022.
