When Pfizer begins to introduce its Covid antiviral medication Paxlovid to the commercial market later this year, the cost of a five-day course will be $1,390.
On Wednesday, a corporate representative verified the price, which The Wall Street Journal had originally reported. The $529 the federal government paid for Paxlovid is more than double the list price, which is the amount paid by insurers and pharmacy benefit managers before rebates and other concessions.
Since December 2021, when the FDA initially approved the medication, the government has acquired and provided Paxlovid to the general public without charge. But starting in 2024, Pfizer will offer Paxlovid directly to health insurers, which coincides with a statewide decline in demand for Covid medications and vaccinations.
Doctors, health professionals, and patient advocates have expressed concern that a higher price will restrict access to the life-saving medication. It has been demonstrated that this medication lowers the risk of severe illness and death from Covid in patients who are most at risk, such as those with diabetes, heart conditions, or compromised immune systems.
Paxlovid has a list price of almost $1,400, but health insurance programs are likely to pay substantially less than that amount, thus patients will most likely have minimal or no out-of-pocket expenses. Pfizer also stated that it is collaborating with payers to reduce patient copays.
Pfizer intends to cover commercially insured patients’ copays until at least 2028.
“As usual, Pfizer wants to make sure that everyone has fair access to our medications. In order to get PAXLOVID the greatest possible formulary placement and lower OOP costs for patients, we are working hard with payers, a company spokeswoman told CNBC.
The business also stated on Friday that it projected Paxlovid sales to be $7 billion lower than expected, in part as a result of the federal government’s return of dosages that were marked for emergency use.
Pfizer has lowered its previous projection of $67 billion to $70 billion and now anticipates global sales of $58 billion to $61 billion in 2023. Pfizer said that its Covid products were the only reason it reduced its sales estimate.