In China, no easy way to get Pfizer's COVID drug Paxlovid

JD Health International

16/01/2023 03:18

By Sophie Yu and Martin Quin Pollard
       BEIJING, Jan 16 (Reuters) - When Li's 83-year-old father
with diabetes started coughing and complaining of body aches
last month, the Beijing resident became anxious about finding a
treatment for COVID-19 in case his parent had caught the virus
sweeping the city. 
    He heard at that time that Pfizer's  PFE.N  anti-viral drug
Paxlovid was an effective treatment, but patients could only get
it prescribed if they were admitted to hospital, and only if the
drug was in stock. 
    The first hospital they visited conducted a CT scan that
showed his lungs were infected, but turned them away, saying no
beds were available, said Li, who only gave his surname due to
sensitivity over how authorities might view his account. 
    After two more days of frantic calls to families and
friends, a contact finally found them a space at another
hospital, but it took a further antigen test and second CT scan
before it agreed to prescribe the drug. 
    With his father admitted to an intensive care unit, Li was
worried that it had taken too long to get effective treatment.
    "I’m not sure if Paxlovid can help him. I think it's because
when he got the medicine he already had the virus for a week,"
Li told Reuters on Jan.12.
    "Now we can do little but pray."
    His father died the same day.
    Li's experience, local media reports and online posts bear
testimony to the difficulties faced obtaining Paxlovid in China
through official channels.
    Paxlovid - a combination of two anti viral drugs - is one of
the few foreign oral treatments approved by Beijing and a
clinical trial has found it to have reduced hospitalisations in
high-risk patients by around 90%.
    Having been approved in February last year, Paxlovid was
scarcely used in China until December when the government
started lifting its strict containment policy, and wave of COVID
infections began to build.
    RAMPING UP SUPPLIES 
    Chinese authorities have acknowledged that supplies of
Paxlovid are still insufficient to meet demand, even as Pfizer
CEO Albert Bourla said last week that thousands of courses of
the treatment were shipped to the country last year and in the
past couple of weeks millions more were shipped.
    "Pfizer is actively collaborating with Chinese authorities
and all stakeholders to secure an adequate supply of Paxlovid in
China. We remain committed to fulfilling the COVID-19 treatment
needs of Chinese patients and partnering with the Chinese
government," the company said in a statement.
    Racing to defend against a rising death toll, China has also
approved Merck & Co's  MRK.N  COVID antiviral drug and is
reviewing a treatment developed by Japan's Shionogi  4507.T .
    Paxlovid is covered by state insurance -- albeit temporarily
until the end of March -- meaning patients in theory would only
need to pay 198 yuan ($29), a tenth of its usual price.
    But China doesn't provide data on how many treatment courses
are supplied and where it can be purchased, forcing most
patients to rely on media reports, word-of-mouth or even
importing through unauthorised channels in the grey market.
    Those who do manage to find a supplier often end up paying
exorbitant prices, as demand has shot up amid a giant wave of
COVID-19 infections.
    The official Guangzhou Daily reported that patients at the
United Family Healthcare hospital in Guangdong were paying 6,000
yuan ($891) for health checks before being allowed to get
Paxlovid priced at 2,300 yuan at the hospital.
    The hospital did not immediately reply to a Reuters' request
for comment.
    Health data firm Airfinity estimated in December that China
would need 49 million courses of the COVID treatment over the
next five months, with over 22 million needed in January alone.
    The Pfizer drug can be also purchased for 2,170 yuan with
prescription via online platforms, but it typically sells out
within seconds.
    PAXLOVID GIFT
    Several other people described to Reuters how they turned to
the grey market to purchase Paxlovid. Some were looking to treat
sick relatives, while others wanted it just in case.
    Chen Jun, a resident of China's southern Hainan Province,
said he bought Paxlovid from a supplier introduced by a business
partner, who said the medicine was coming from Hong Kong. 
    Chen paid 20,000 yuan ($2,972) on Jan. 2 for two boxes for
his elderly parents, who suffer from cancer, and he said that
some people had paid double that price. 
    "You'll think it cheap once your family members are in need,
because anything is better than going to a hospital now," he
said. "I know people who paid 20,000 yuan for one box of the
medicine."
    Another buyer who gave his name as Ray said he managed to
get two boxes from the United States, where supplies are still
ample and a doctor's prescription can be obtained after an
online consultation. 
    "It's very straightforward, they don't ask questions," he
said. Having made the online purchase, he then asked a friend
there to help courier it to China. 
    An analyst at a Chinese securities house, who requested
anonymity because of sensitivities over the subject, said his
boss went to Hong Kong to stock up on Paxlovid to gift clients
as it was more valued than a popular, expensive liquor. 
    "It is a better gift than Moutai."
($1 = 6.7072 Chinese yuan renminbi)
 (Reporting by Sophie Yu, Martin Pollard and Albee Zhang;
Additional reporting by Michael Erman in New York; Writing by
Brenda Goh; Editing by Miyoung Kim & Simon Cameron-Moore)
 ((Sophie.Yu@thomsonreuters.com; 861056692136;))