Recently,
the new crown pneumonia epidemic has rebounded in many parts of the country,
the market has special effects on the new crown Drug report to look forward to.
On February 11, the State Food and Drug Administration conducted emergency review and approval in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Drug Administration Law and in accordance with the special drug approval procedures.Conditionally approved the import registration of Pfizer’s new coronavirus treatment drug nematevir tablet/ritonavir tablet combination package (ie Paxlovid).
On March 17, the first batch of 21,200 boxes of Paxlovid officially entered China. According to China Business News, the batch of drugs has been distributed to at least 8 provinces including Jilin, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangxi, and other clinical front-line treatment of the new crown.
Image source: CCTV News
According to China Business News, Professor Lu Hongzhou, head of the first Shenzhen epidemic prevention and control public health expert group and president of Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, said, “We purchase I ordered 1,000 boxes, and the price is 2,300 yuan/box.”
In addition, according to Zhejiang Jingshi News, Paxlovid The price of a box is 2,300 yuan, which is included in medical insurance.
A course of treatment is cheaper than stateside
Already Clearly included in medical insurance
Paxlovid is a Nimatevir tablet developed by Pfizer
Ritonavir Tablets Combination Drugs.
Nemataviris a protease inhibitor that blocks the protease activity necessary for coronavirus replication. And ritonavir is used to slow down the metabolism or breakdown of nematevir, so that it remains active in the body for a longer time at higher concentrations, thereby jointly affecting the reproduction of the virus.
According to Pfizer’s previously published clinical trial data, compared with the placebo group, patients who received Paxlovid 3 and 5 days after symptom onset, COVID-19 patients had an 89% and 88% reduction in hospitalization or mortality, respectively, and a 10-fold reduction in viral load. In the overall 28-day study population, no deaths were reported in patients receiving the drug, compared with 10 (1.6%) deaths in patients receiving placebo.
In November 2021, Pfizer announced an agreement with the U.S. government to supply 10 million courses of Paxlovid for a total purchase price of approximately $5.3 billion. According to this calculation, the price of Pfizer Paxlovid in the United States is: For a 5-day course of treatment, the US government needs to pay about 530 US dollars (about 3367 yuan).
The National Health and Medical Commission recently released the “New Coronary Virus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Plan (Trial Version 9)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Diagnosis and Treatment Plan”). Two specific anti-COVID-19 drugs approved by the bureau are written into the diagnosis and treatment plan, namely: PF-07321332/ritonavir tablet (Paxlovid) and domestic monoclonal antibody (ambavirumab/romisevirumab injection) liquid).
According to the “Diagnosis and Treatment Program”, the indications of Paxlovid are adults with mild and common types within 5 days of onset and with high risk factors for progression to severe disease. The usage and dosage are 300mg nematevir tablets and 100mg ritonavir tablets at the same time, once every 12 hours for 5 consecutive days.
The Paxlovid box shows,
each box contains a total of 30 tablets Drugs,
pink naimatevir (20 tablets) respectively
and white ritonavir (10 tablets),
enough to take 5 consecutive days, that is, one course of treatment.
This means that a single course of Paxlovid is cheaper than in the United States.
In addition, Paxlovid has been explicitly included in the medical insurance.
On March 21, the National Medical Insurance Office issued the “Notice on Effectively Doing a Good Job in the Current Epidemic Prevention and Control Medical Security Work”, saying, “The newly added Naima in the “Diagnosis and Treatment Plan” Tevir tablets/ritonavir tablets will be purchased by medical institutions according to the price agreed between the company and relevant departments, and the medical insurance department will pay according to regulations.”
Experts : After the patient uses it, the effect is relatively obviousobvious
According to the first financial report, Lu Hongzhou said, “We use Paxlovid in the Those who are likely to develop severe disease, such as obese, the elderly, and patients with underlying diseases such as tumors and diabetes.” He said, After the patient uses it, the effect is still relatively obvious, and the summary report of the system will have to wait for a few more days.
Lu Hongzhou’s point of view is corroborated by another COVID-19 treatment expert. “Paxlovid is preferentially used in patients with new coronary pneumonia with underlying diseases, because they are worried that their condition will continue to worsen to reduce the risk of becoming severe.” An expert from a designated hospital for new coronary pneumonia in South China told reporters.
The expert also said: “As a small molecule oral drug, Paxlovid has a very wide range of applications. I saw that when it was first listed in the United States, some local pharmacies sold it. is a drug.”This drug is mainly used for patients with mild symptomsto prevent their disease from becoming severe.
Many people may ask,
Can Paxlovid be used to prevent new coronary pneumonia?
The answer is no.
According to the Metropolitan Express, pharmacy experts from the First Hospital of Zhejiang University said that based on the existing evidence, whether it is the new emergency use management method launched by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ) The indications for emergency use are still my country’s ninth edition of the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of new crowns, which clearly indicate that the indications of Paxlovid are for the treatment of adults with mild to moderate new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) with high risk factors for progression to severe disease. and adolescents (12 years and older, weighing ≥40 kg). And based on the pharmacological mechanism of the drug is mainly to inhibit the replication of the new coronavirus, it has not been found to have the potential to prevent the new crown. Therefore, it is specially reminded that this drug is used as a back-up method to deal with critically ill patients, not for prevention, but for treatment.
“Drugs are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the clinical trial results of Paxlovid have shown a positive therapeutic effect on patients with new coronary pneumonia, on the other hand. , its side effects cannot be ignored, and specialists are required to accurately grasp the indications and rationally use drugs.” The pharmacy expert of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University said that although the new crown antiviral drugs are good, they are not effective against the new crown virus. only means. Personal protection and active vaccination are still important measures for epidemic prevention and control and cannot be ignored.
Domestic manufacturers compete for the new crown oral drug track
When will the epidemic end,< /span>
is probably the topic that everyone is most concerned about right now.
In this regard, the National Health Commission has previously given 4 conditions:
✦The pathogenicity of the new coronavirus variant virus
✦Vaccines are more effective;
✦More effective new crown drugs;< /span>
✦The outbreak in other countries has eased.
Obviously, “effective vaccine + new crown drug” has become two very important conditions for ending the new crown epidemic. It is foreseeable that the importance of new crown treatment drugs in the future fight against the epidemic will increase, and the market demand will also rapidly expand.
The current global market demand for new crown oral drugs is very high, According to Pfizer’s official expectations, there will be about 250 million in 2022 People need Covid-19 medicines.
At present, the domestic market is highly concerned about the progress of domestically produced new crown drugs. Combing through relevant reports, it is found that at present, pharmaceutical companies such as Junshi Bio, Real Bio, and Frontier Bio are taking the lead in the research and development of small molecule drugs, striving to obtain excellent data in the clinical stage; Simcere Pharmaceutical, Genting Xinyao, Asclei Pharmaceutical Other candidate drugs are also eager to try, and are about to enter the clinic.
my country’s new crown oral drugs are making the fastest progress, including VV116 developed by Junshi Bio and Prokalutamide developed by Kintor, both of which are in phase III clinical trials .
In addition, the relevant person in charge of Kintor said that three global multi-center Phase III clinical trials of proclutamide in the treatment of new crowns are currently in active progress, of which the progress is the fastest. This is the first global multi-center Phase III clinical trial (NCT04870606) in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in the United States and other countries. The top-line will be announced in late March 2022, no later than early April. data.
Source: Daily Economic News, China Business News, City Express, Brokers China, Economic Observer span>