Drug price group slashes suggested price of Pfizer COVID drug Paxlovid by 80 percent
US: An influential drug pricing research group has cut its suggested price range for Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid by more than 80%, partly to reflect the decreased disease burden as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus tends to cause less severe illness.
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) said on Tuesday that its new suggested U.S. price based on the benefits and value to patients was in the range of $563 to $906 per treatment course. That compares with its previous assessment of $3,600 to $5,800 per course.
ICER is not a government agency and has no authority to set prices. But many large health insurers take their reports into account when they negotiate prices with drug manufacturers and determine patient access. Drugmakers also take into account ICER estimates when they set prices for new medicines.
Pfizer will need to negotiate prices with private payers like insurers for the two-drug oral treatment when inventory built up by the U.S. government runs out and many COVID care costs revert to the private insurance market.
Read also: Paxlovid significantly lowers risk of COVID hospitalization and death among vaccinated elders
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