China says talks to incorporate Paxlovid in its insurance coverage drug checklist fail

BEIJING, Jan 8 (Reuters) – China is not going to embrace Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) Paxlovid in an replace to its checklist of medicines coated by primary medical insurance coverage schemes because the U.S. agency quoted a excessive value for the COVID-19 drug, China’s Healthcare Safety Administration (NHSA) mentioned on Sunday.

The COVID-19 antiviral drug is at present coated by the nation’s broad healthcare insurance coverage scheme below short-term measures the regulator launched in March final 12 months as outbreaks rose.

However authorities held talks with Pfizer in latest days to determine whether or not to incorporate it within the newest model of their checklist, which they replace yearly.

Inclusion on the checklist means a drug is accessible through state insurance coverage schemes, which can increase volumes however comes with the situation that producers decrease costs. Previous rounds have seen drugmakers minimize costs by as a lot as 62% after negotiations with officers.

“We’ll proceed to collaborate with the Chinese language authorities and all related stakeholders to safe an ample provide of Paxlovid in China. We stay dedicated to fulfilling the COVID-19 therapy wants of Chinese language sufferers,” Pfizer mentioned in an announcement, with out elaborating.

The NHSA mentioned Paxlovid would proceed to be eligible to be paid for by state medical insurance coverage till the present deliberate end-date to the short-term measures of March 31.

Whereas the talks on Paxlovid failed, they succeeded with two different COVID-19 therapy medicine — natural treatment Qingfei Paidu granules and Chinese language drugmaker Real Biotech’s Azvudine — which can be included within the checklist’s replace, the regulator mentioned.

Three years into the pandemic, China started pivoting away from its signature “zero COVID” coverage final month after historic protests in opposition to the economically-damaging curbs that had been championed by President Xi Jinping.

The sudden loosening of restrictions has fueled a large wave of infections and prompted many to show to underground channels to acquire treatments equivalent to Paxlovid, which a medical trial has discovered to have lowered hospitalisations in high-risk sufferers by round 90%.

Containers of Paxlovid are altering fingers for as a lot as 50,000 yuan ($7,313.15), greater than 20 occasions the unique value of two,300 yuan, in line with native media experiences and social media posts.

Beijing has been largely proof against Western vaccines, however has greenlighted international oral therapies Paxlovid and Merck’s (MRK.N) Molnupiravir. It authorised Paxlovid in February.

Reuters reported on Saturday, citing sources, that China is in talks with Pfizer to safe a licence that may permit home drugmakers to fabricate and distribute a generic model of Paxlovid.

Final month, China Meheco Group Co Ltd (600056.SS) mentioned on Wednesday it signed an settlement with Pfizer to import and distribute Paxlovid in mainland China.

Pfizer additionally signed a deal in August for Chinese language drugmaker Zhejiang Huahai (600521.SS) to provide Paxlovid in mainland China solely for sufferers there.

($1 = 6.8370 Chinese language yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Brenda Goh, Yingzhi Yang and Roxanne Liu; Modifying by Raissa Kasolowsky, Elaine Hardcastle and Daniel Wallis

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