FT learned of $1 billion “wasted” on COVID-19 pills in Europe

In Europe, $1 billion allocated for the purchase of Pfizer antiviral drugs against covid-19 was “wasted” because, due to strict control over the dispensing to patients, millions of tablets remained unclaimed and had already expired, the Financial Times writes, citing the British analytical company Airfinity.

The article is about the antiviral drug "Paxlovid" (Paxlovid, active ingredient - Nirmatrelvir). The EU authorized its use at the end of 2021.

European countries including the UK, France, Spain and Italy could have made the drug more affordable, but have not used more than 1.5 million five-day courses at a cost of $1.1 billion, even though the terms of use were extended by 6-12 months. analysts note.

A total of 3.1 million courses, costing $2.2 billion, will expire by the end of February. These figures do not include EU-wide purchases of Paxlovid.

The FT noted that the drug was easier to obtain  in the US than in Europe, where the drugs were predominantly prescribed to older people and patients at high risk of severe COVID-19.

Airfinity analyst Marco Galotta said some countries may have overpaid for Paxlovid as governments sought to procure the effective antiviral drug and faced the difficult task of assessing potential demand. At the same time, later, a decrease in the incidence and volume of testing for CORONAVIRUS influenced the use of Paxlovid when the first symptoms of COVID-19 appeared.

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Pfizer said the expiration and destruction of unused tablets represents "a natural outcome of the collective efforts of manufacturers and governments to quickly address the HEALTH crisis" amid the pandemic.