Chinese state-owned firm signs deal with Pfizer to supply Covid-19 pill

Regulator conditionally approved Paxlovid last month to treat adults with mild to moderate Covid-19 who are at high risk of becoming severely ill
Contract allows China Meheco Corp to commercialise the drug during the 2022 agreement period

Coronavirus China

Zhuang Pinghuiin Beijing

Published: 2:21pm, 10 Mar 2022

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Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill is one step closer to clinical use in China, with state-owned China Meheco Corp securing a deal with Pfizer to commercialise the drug within the year.

The Chinese company had signed a contract with Pfizer and was authorised to supply Paxlovid in China during the 2022 agreement period, China Meheco said in a statement on Wednesday night.

Last month, China’s drug regulator conditionally approved Paxlovid to treat adults with mild to moderate Covid-19 who had a high risk of becoming severely ill, including the elderly and patients with chronic kidney issues, cardiovascular or chronic lung disease, diabetes and other high-risk factors for Covid-19.

02:25

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Paxlovid is the first foreign Covid-19 drug to enter China’s market.

In December, China approved a cocktail of neutralising antibodies jointly developed by Brii Biosciences and Tsinghua University after clinical trials showed an 80 per cent reduction in hospital admissions and deaths in Covid-19 patients at high risk of developing severe disease. The treatment requires intravenous infusion and lab tests found the treatment “holds up well” against the Omicron variant, although one of the antibodies had a substantial drop in activity, according to the Chinese developer.

Li Yadong, chairman of China Meheco, said in a statement the partnership with Pfizer would allow both parties to “leverage their respective advantage in resources” to help launch oral therapeutics in China.

“We also hope to take this cooperation as an opportunity to explore multidisciplinary and multi-angle cooperation with excellent global pharmaceutical companies,” Li said.

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Shares in China Meheco hit the 10 per cent daily limit on Thursday morning following days of rally, which saw a 72 per cent increase this month amid speculation that the state-owned company might become the sole agent to sell the drug in mainland China.

The company cautioned in the statement that the final use and sale of the product were uncertain because of factors such as epidemic prevention and control. It said the scale of Paxlovid business was expected to account for a small proportion of the firm’s overall business volume, which “has no significant impact on the company’s recent operating results”.

China Meheco has a nationwide marketing and sales network that involves distribution, promotion and sales, and large-scale logistics centres. The network involves about 1,000 retail pharmacies in 25 provinces, the company has said previously.

02:46

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The drug is sold in the US at about US$530 per treatment, which lasts five days. The proposed retail price for the drug in China is not yet known.

Clinical trials showed Pfizer’s antiviral pill could reduce the risk of hospital admission and death by 88 per cent when given to unvaccinated people who are at high risk of severe Covid-19 within five days of the onset of symptoms, according to results announced by the company in December. Last month, lab studies showed the pills remained effective against the Omicron variant.

Paxlovid was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on December 22, for coronavirus patients aged 12 and over who were vulnerable to becoming severely ill.

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Pfizer announced on Wednesday it had launched a phase 2/3 clinical trial to study the effectiveness of Paxlovid in young children, with 140 children aged six to 17 taking part.

One group that weigh more than 40kg (88 pounds) will be given the dose currently authorised for teens and adults and the other group weighing between 20kg and 40kg will be given a smaller dose. Pfizer said research was continuing to determine the best dose for children younger than six.