Pfizer will list its COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid at a price of $1,390 per five-day course when it soon hits the commercial market, the drugmaker confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: Paxlovid’s new listed price, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will be more than twice the $529 paid by the federal government, which until now has maintained the entire U.S. supply of the key antiviral medication.

    • doctorcrimson
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      1 year ago

      Maybe. Definite grounds for violation of price gouging laws unless another producer can easily fill the supply gap, which is entirely reliant on how much time is left before the change AND the availability of production methods which are beholden to intellectual property laws.

      • FontMasterFlex@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        it’s criminal on a human level, not a law level. idgaf about gouging laws. charging $1400 for something that can be lifesaving is fucking criminal. especially when it’s more than DOUBLE what the govt was paying for it. If you want to know how much a human life is worth to these fucks, start here.

        • doctorcrimson
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          1 year ago

          Well I wish morality equaled legality, but sadly the two are separate. It’s disgusting, abhorring, incorrigible, foul, etc. But its legality is dependent on the regional laws.

  • Drusas@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    As a high-risk individual, this fucking sucks. Capitalist vultures trying to bankrupt me everywhere I turn.

    • Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      Oh dear I read this wrong at first, thinking you were flexing that you take risks. I’m thinking “well my life is boring and this sucks for me too?” 🤣

  • malloc@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Health insurance companies probably finding some obscure study to deny claims for Paxlovid. Or just follow UHC claim practices. Deny all claims initially. Slow roll it.

    Patient either gives up or pays out of pocket.

  • Stuka@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Honestly 1400 for a 5 day course of this is more reasonable than I expected. It’s still unreasonable, but I just figured it’s be way higher.

    • athos77@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      It has an 89% efficacy rate in reducing hospitalization and death among the unvaccinated. I’m sorry that’s not “good enough” for you.

      • thepianistfroggollum@lemmynsfw.com
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        1 year ago

        I’m just going off the information that my health care provider gave me. She said they only use it on high risk individuals because it’s not as effective as claimed.

        • superguy@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Might want to find a new health care provider.

          She may be taking you for a ride.

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      It does work, amazingly. I had Covid a few times and took Paxlovid the last time. It works better than any drug I’ve taken. After taking the first dose, there were no more Covid symptoms within 4-6 hours.

      The problem with Paxlovid (besides the cost) is that it gives you a new set of side effects: weird joint and muscle pain, a metallic taste in the mouth, etc. They’re better than Covid though. And it won’t kill you.

      • thepianistfroggollum@lemmynsfw.com
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        1 year ago

        Just because it worked for you doesn’t mean that the effectiveness in their trials represents real world numbers. I’m not pulling this out of my ass, I was told this by a medical professional.

        • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          There are many types of “medical professionals”. Only a vast minority actually read and interpret trial data.

          I’m going to trust my direct experience with the drug (I know it works) and real world studies like below.

          Conclusions: This study suggests that in the era of Omicron and in real-life settings, Paxlovid is highly effective in reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 or mortality.

          https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35653428/

          • SoleInvictus@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Excuse me, that study only examined 140,219 patients. You’ll need WAY more, at least one million, to argue against the anecdotal opinion of a random, unspecified ‘medical professional’.

            /s so hard

            • thepianistfroggollum@lemmynsfw.com
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              1 year ago

              Only 2.6% of the sample were given paxlovid, and they didn’t control for vaccination status.

              Also, it only covered 1 month nearly 2 years ago in a single country, and the virus has mutated several times since then.

              • SoleInvictus@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                The best part about having a background in statistics is watching people who don’t understand statistics try to explain why the math that doesn’t support their point actually does, somehow.

              • Muddybulldog@mylemmy.win
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                1 year ago

                Paxlovid is a 3CL protease inhibitor. It modifies the primary enzyme that is common across all cornavirus.

          • FontMasterFlex@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            dude’s not saying it doesn’t work. he’s saying it doesn’t work as well as advertised. that perhaps doesn’t mean it’s only 50% effective for 100% people. perhaps it’s 100% effective for 20% of people. Think dude.

            • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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              Yeah I’m gonna go ahead and say the guy throwing out accusations like false advertising is the one that needs to think a little more.

              Paxlovid has only ever been advertised as something that “can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by around 89%”.

              The idea that, somehow, all of the people associated with coming to the “89%” number are somehow magically also associated with a subset of the population that responds well to it is fucking nonsense. It’s the exact same garbage logic that conspiracy theorists use.

          • thepianistfroggollum@lemmynsfw.com
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            Ah, that was the era of omicron. We’re over 21 months and several variants past that now, and I was given the information about paxlovid last week.

            Also, that study only covers a single month in Israel in 2022 and only 2.6% of the sample was given paxlovid.

        • superguy@lemm.ee
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          I was told this by a medical professional.

          What about all the medical professionals that disagree with your medical professional?

          This is why people like you should keep quiet on matters they know nothing about. If you want to understand something, you have to research it yourself.

  • mommykink@lemmy.world
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    Remember when the COVID vaccine came out and all the “nationalize healthcare” mfs started worshipping pharmaceutical companies as the greatest thing in history? Pretty funny, huh?

    • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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      Magnificent! You’ve successfully constructed and attacked a straw-man by conflating economics with medical science, and displayed your total ignorance of … everything … in the process…

    • no banana@lemmy.world
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      Remember when the COVID vaccine came out and all the “don’t nationalize healthcare” mfs started making up strawmen to argue against because they have no idea what other people actually want for society? Pretty funny, huh?

    • Bone@lemmy.world
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      No, I don’t remember that. I feel like you’re making stuff up.

    • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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      …no? Because that didn’t happen. “The” vaccine was multiple different ones, including some made in China and the UK.

    • CaptFeather@lemm.ee
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      I’m guessing you’re an antivaxxer? Everyone still recognized the bs Pfizer and Moderna did during the pandemic. The world is not black and white, bad companies can still do things that benefit society.

      • mommykink@lemmy.world
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        everyone I dont like is a nazi

        Wrong. Got vaccinated within the first month of vaccines being given to the public and got boosted last week

    • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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      What a clown comment. Other countries with universal healthcare pay significantly less for care and pharmaceuticals than Americans because their governments handle the negotiations.