Paxlovid Has Entered The Clinical Treatment Of 8 Provinces In China, Expert: The Effect Is More Obvious

Since more than 20,000 boxes of drugs entered China on March 17, Pfizer's new coronavirus treatment drug "Nimatevir/Ritonavir Tablets" (Paxlovid) has been distributed to Jilin, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, at least 8 provinces including Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangxi are on the front line of clinical treatment of new crowns. Several experts in the treatment of new crown patients said: "New crown antiviral drugs should be used early in the course of the disease, focusing on patients with high-risk factors and a tendency to become severely ill."

However, as the number of new crown infections in many provinces and cities in China continues to increase, Paxlovid's production capacity Whether it can keep up with the rhythm of clinical treatment has become a concern of many people.

Since February 11, Pfizer's new coronavirus treatment drug Paxlovid was registered for emergency review and approval by the State Food and Drug Administration of China, and the first batch of 21,200 boxes of the drug arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on March 17. Since then, it has been distributed and distributed to at least 8 provinces including Jilin, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangxi and other clinical front lines of new crown treatment, all of which have experienced sudden outbreaks to varying degrees.

Lu Hongzhou, head of the first Shenzhen epidemic prevention and control public health expert group and president of Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, introduced that the Pfizer's new crown oral drug used by the three Shenzhen hospitals this time came from the batch on March 17. "We purchased 1,000 boxes, and the price is 2,300 yuan per box." This price is cheaper than that of Paxlovid in the United States.

Several experts in the treatment of new crown patients said: "New crown antiviral drugs should be used early in the course of the disease, focusing on patients with high-risk factors and a tendency to become seriously ill." Lu Hongzhou said: "We use Paxlovid on people who are likely to develop severe disease, such as obesity, the elderly, and patients with basic diseases such as tumors and diabetes." After the patients used it, the effect was still relatively obvious. The summary report will have to wait a few more days.

According to the data, Paxlovid is an oral small-molecule novel coronavirus treatment drug for the treatment of mild to moderate adult patients with novel coronavirus with high risk factors for progression to severe disease. Published clinical trial results showed that taking the drug orally reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percent.

In addition to Paxlovid, another domestically-developed monoclonal antibody in China has not yet entered the substantive sales stage, but its safety and efficacy have been supported by certain data. In terms of payment, the above two drugs will be "paid by the medical insurance department according to regulations".

It is worth noting that industry insiders said that Pfizer's current production capacity of this drug is not sufficient. An expert from a designated hospital for treating COVID-19 in a city in China said: "There are only 100 boxes sent to our hospital, so we must make good use of it. We must not waste such good medical resources and treat patients who need treatment."

However, the above 100 boxes of medicines cannot cover most of the patients in the hospital.

At present, the number of infected cases in many provinces and cities in China is still increasing. "If this drug from Pfizer is used on a large scale, the clinic will definitely face a situation of 'more monks and less porridge'," said a Chinese disease control expert. At present, further sales plans for Paxlovid in China are not known.

The Geneva Drug Patent Pool Organization announced this month that five Chinese pharmaceutical companies, including Fosun Pharma, Shanghai Desano, Huahai Pharmaceutical, Puluo Pharmaceutical, and Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical, have entered Paxlovid's "special imitation" list.

While the new crown epidemic is still a public health emergency, these companies can manufacture Paxlovid's core ingredient, nematevir, royalty-free. Among the 5 Chinese pharmaceutical companies, Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical only produces APIs, while the other 4 can produce both APIs and preparations.