The US government ordered from the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer 10 million pills against covid-19 for 5.290 million dollars, an order contingent on the approval of the drug by the competent authorities, according to statements released this Thursday.
Pfizer on Tuesday applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for authorization for the emergency use of its Paxlovid pill, which has been shown to reduce hospitalization or death by nearly 90% among newly infected high-risk patients.
The pharmaceutical company markets a vaccine against the virus in collaboration with the BioNTech laboratory.
This antiviral treatment, which will be marketed under the name Paxlovid, was tested in people at high risk of developing severe cases of Covid-19.
Antivirals work by reducing the ability of the virus to replicate, thus slowing the progression of the disease. It is a key complement to vaccines to protect against coronavirus.
“Getting vaccinated remains the most important action to protect yourself and others and end this pandemic,” US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
“But for people who get sick and can suffer serious consequences, having pills that they can take to avoid going to the hospital could be a lifesaver,” he added.
Washington’s order foresees the delivery of the first treatments by the end of the year, and in 2022.
“The price paid by the government reflects the high volume of purchased treatments,” Prizer said in its own statement, in which it indicates that it is in talks to sell its pill with other countries.
Numbers
The pharmaceutical group has already benefited widely from its anticovid vaccine, which allowed it to double its turnover in the third quarter to 24.1 billion dollars, and multiply its net profit in the period by five in relation to the same quarter of 2020, to a total of 8.150 million dollars.
The American laboratory Merck also developed an antiviral treatment, molnupiravir, authorized in early November by the United Kingdom, the first country to allow it.
An FDA commission will meet on November 30 to rule on Merck’s request for authorization of treatment in the United States.
Washington has already purchased 3.1 million treatments from Merck.
Pfizer signed a voluntary license agreement that should allow access to its anticovid pill beyond rich countries, once it has been authorized, and thus fight more effectively against a pandemic that continues to ravage the world.
The US pharmaceutical giant and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), created by Unitaid, jointly made the announcement on Tuesday.
That will allow generic manufacturers to produce the drug to supply 95 low- and middle-income countries with 53% of the world’s population.
Merck concluded a similar pact with MPP for its oral drug.
On Wall Street, Pfizer stock was slightly higher after the open.
