Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) is to more than double the US price of its Covid-19 antiviral medication Paxlovid as the use of the jab falls.
In a statement, Pfizer said the list price before insurance will rise to US$1,390 for a five-day course compared to the US$530-per-course paid currently by the US government.
Paxlovid has been supplied free to patients since the onset of the pandemic by the US government, but that programme is set to stop at the end of this year.
Pfizer added it is working with health insurers to arrange lower costs to patients, with people who qualify for assistance still likely to get it for free.
Last week, Pfizer announced a US$4.5 billion writedown on its stocks of Paxlovid that weren’t aimed at XBB.1.5 variants of the virus with a further US$900 million written of stocks of the Covid vaccine developed jointly with German firm BioNtech.
Pfizer said Paxlovid “has been a breakthrough in the fight against Covid-19, helping to treat millions of high-risk patients across the US and millions more around the world”.