Credit: Anthony Quintano / flickr
U.S. consumer watchdog Public Citizen on Thursday excoriated Pfizer after the pharmaceutical giant announced it would more than double the price of a lifesaving Covid-19 treatment, which will soon sell for an estimated 100 times the cost of production.
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.
“Pfizer’s new price is an estimated 100 times the cost of production,” Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, said in a statement.
It’s also more than 2.5 times the federal government’s purchase price for Paxlovid. The government has bought and distributed the antiviral drug to the public free of charge since December 2021, when the […]
Excellent article focused on the greed of one pharmaceutical corporation. This behavior is support by the government who has not interfered in the profit making activities of this industry. Not coincidentally, this industry gives massive amounts to the politicians who it rents for this purpose. Good for both politicians and corporations, but not for the public. So, when next you read of the distrust by the American Public regarding pronouncements from the healthcare industry think of this article. Just one data point of many.