News Desk
HONG KONG/BEIJING: China is in talks with US Pfizer Inc to attain a licence that will allow local drugmakers to manufacture and distribute a generic version of the US firm’s anti-COVID-19 drug Paxlovid in the country, reported Reuters citing anonymous sources.
National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), China’s medical products regulator, has been negotiating with Pfizer since late last month.
Beijing is keen to settle deal terms before the Lunar New Year which begins on January 22, the source said.
Paxlovid is in high demand with many Chinese trying to get the drug abroad and then ship it to China. The drug was found to have reduced hospitalisations in high-risk patients by around 90 per cent in a clinical trial.
Oral treatment Paxlovid is among the few foreign vaccines approved by Beijing which has been largely resistant to western medications and treatments.
Pfizer says collaborating with Chinese officials over Paxlovid supply to country
A Pfizer spokesperson said the company was in active collaboration with Chinese authorities and all stakeholders to secure an adequate supply of Paxlovid to the country.
Chinese hospitals are currently under intense stress after the government suddenly abandoned its “zero-COVID” policy last month, sending infections soaring. The rising wave of infections across the country has overwhelmed medical centers, emptied pharmacies and caused global alarm.
