Pfizer Inc has announced that it will provide an additional 2.5 million treatment courses of its investigational candidate Paxlovid to the United Kingdom.
This is in addition to the 250,000 treatment courses previously contracted by the British government, which are awaiting approval and recommendation for use, bringing the total number of treatment courses to 2.75 million.
Pfizer anticipates producing up to 80 million Paxlovid treatment courses by the end of 2022, with 30 million treatment courses available in the first half of the year.
If authorized or approved, Pfizer will provide oral antiviral therapy at a tiered pricing structure based on each country’s income level in order to promote global equity of access.
Countries with high and upper-middle incomes will pay more than lower-income countries.
Pfizer stated that it will continue to invest up to $1 billion in Paxlovid manufacturing and distribution, including exploring potential contract manufacturing options.
It has, however, entered into agreements with a number of countries and has begun bilateral outreach to approximately 100 countries around the world.
If authorized or approved, Paxlovid will be administered twice daily for five days at a dose of 300 milligrams (mg) (two 150 mg tablets) of Nirmatrelvir and one 100 mg tablet of Ritonavir.
One carton contains five blister packs of Paxlovid, which are co-packaged Nirmatrelvir tablets with Ritonavir tablets and contain all of the necessary doses for a full five-day treatment course.