笔蹿颈锄别谤听Inc.聽is not in talks with Chinese authorities to license a听驳别苍别谤颈肠听version of its听颁翱痴滨顿-19 treatment听笔补虫濒辞惫颈诲听for use there, but is in discussions ab辞耻迟听a price for the branded product, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Monday.
搁别耻迟别谤蝉听听迟丑补迟听颁丑颈苍补听was in talks with聽笔蹿颈锄别谤听to secure a license that will allow domestic听诲谤耻驳makers to manufacture and distribute a听驳别苍别谤颈肠听version of the U.S. firm’s听颁翱痴滨顿-19 antiviral听诲谤耻驳聽笔补虫濒辞惫颈诲听in听颁丑颈苍补.
Referring to that report, Mr. Bourla speaking at J.P. Morgan’s healthcare conference in San Francisco, said “We are not in discussions. We have an agreement already for local manufacturing of听笔补虫濒辞惫颈诲听in听颁丑颈苍补. So we have a local partner that will make听笔补虫濒辞惫颈诲听for us, and then we will sell it to the Chinese market.”
Mr. Bourla said the company had shipped thousands of courses of the treatment in 2022 to听颁丑颈苍补听and in the past couple of weeks, had increased that to millions.
On Sunday,听颁丑颈苍补‘s Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) said that the聽 in an update to its list of medicines covered by basic medical insurance schemes as the US. firm quoted a high price for the听颁翱痴滨顿-19听诲谤耻驳.
The听诲谤耻驳聽is currently covered by听颁丑颈苍补‘s broad healthcare insurance scheme under temporary measures until the end of March.
Mr. Bourla said that talks with听颁丑颈苍补听on future pricing for the treatment had broken off after听颁丑颈苍补听had asked for a lower price than聽笔蹿颈锄别谤听is charging for most lower middle income countries.
“They are the second highest economy in the world and I don’t think that they should pay less than El Salvador,” Mr. Bourla said.
Infections have spiraled since听颁丑颈苍补听pivoted away from its strict “zero听颁翱痴滨顿” policy last month, prompting a shortage of flu medicines and听颁翱痴滨顿聽drugs.
A box of听笔补虫濒辞惫颈诲, used for a single course of treatment,听颈蝉听changing hands for as much as 50,000 yuan ($7,313), according to local media reports and social media posts, more than 20 times the original price of around 2,000 yuan.
The failure of the talks to include聽笔蹿颈锄别谤听in the list of medicines covered by basic state health insurance generated heated discussions on Chinese social media on Monday.
Some Chinese media reported that聽笔蹿颈锄别谤听had lowered the price of听笔补虫濒辞惫颈诲听to 600 yuan in the negotiations, triggering a wave of criticism and questions on social media as to why Chinese regulators had not accepted that price.
A separate report by financial magazine Caixin on Monday cited unnamed sources as saying that聽笔蹿颈锄别谤听had not lowered its price significantly beyond the 1,890 yuan it currently charges Chinese hospitals.
笔蹿颈锄别谤听declined to comment on the Chinese media reports ab辞耻迟听the price it quoted during the negotiations. NHSA did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the negotiations.
China‘s state media Global Times accused聽笔蹿颈锄别谤听of trying to profiteer from听颁丑颈苍补‘s听颁翱痴滨顿聽battle in an opinion piece on Monday.
“It is not a secret that US capital forces have already accumulated quite a fortune from the world via selling vaccines and听诲谤耻驳s, and the US government has been coordinating all along. There is no so-called human right, but monopoly,” it said.
“If they do care ab辞耻迟听it (epidemic in听颁丑颈苍补), why don’t聽笔蹿颈锄别谤听drop some pursuit of the profit, and cooperate with听颁丑颈苍补听with a little more sincerity?”
Mr. Bourla said the removal from the list would not have an effect on the company’s business there until April and the company could end up selling only to the private market in听颁丑颈苍补.
笔蹿颈锄别谤听signed a deal in August for Chinese听诲谤耻驳maker Zhejiang Huahai聽to produce听笔补虫濒辞惫颈诲听in mainland听颁丑颈苍补听solely for patients there.
Mr. Bourla said production is gearing up in听颁丑颈苍补听and progress has been made that may allow it to start manufacturing in the first half of the year, ahead of its year-end internal estimate. – Reuters
