https://www.commondreams.org/news/pfizer-paxlovid
'For Shame': #Pfizer to Charge $1,390 for Lifesaving #Covid Drug That Costs Just $13
BRETT WILKINS
Oct 19, 2023
..."Pfizer said Wednesday that it will price its patented Covid treatment nirmatrelvir-ritonavir—sold under the brand name #Paxlovid—at $1,390 for a five-day course. Researchers Melissa J. Barber and Dzintars Gotham recently estimated it costs Pfizer $13 to produce five days' worth of the drug, which is taken in three-pill doses.
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"Pfizer has made tens of billions in Paxlovid sales, largely through major government purchases," Maybarduk noted. "Pfizer could choose now to support the fight against Covid and ease treatment access by lowering its already inflated prices."
"Instead, Pfizer chose to double its U.S. price just as pandemic funding falters and the precarious winter viral season begins," he continued. "This will strain health budgets and contribute to further treatment rationing."
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Medical professionals and patient advocates have voiced concerns that increasing the price of Paxlovid could leave at-risk people without access to the lifesaving drug, which is proven to reduce the risk of death or severe illness from Covid-19 for patients with weakened immune systems or ailments like diabetes and heart conditions.
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In addition to Paxlovid, Pfizer manufactures one of the two available mRNA vaccines for Covid-19. The company reported $56 billion in sales of its Covid-19 vaccine and Paxlovid last year. However, projecting a sales slump in 2023, Pfizer late last year announced a plan to significantly hike the price of its publicly funded Covid-19 shot.
Pfizer reported profits of $31.4 billion in 2022, a 43% increase over the previous year. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla took home $33 million in compensation last year, a 36% raise from 2021."...
