Pfizer expects to hike US COVID vaccine worth to $110-$130 per dose

Pfizer Inc expects to roughly quadruple the worth of its COVID-19 vaccine to about $110 to $130 per dose after the US authorities’s present buy program expires, Pfizer govt Angela Lukin mentioned on Thursday.

Lukin mentioned she expects the vaccine – at the moment offered free of charge to all by the federal government – will likely be made accessible without charge to individuals who have personal insurance coverage or authorities paid insurance coverage.

Reuters earlier on Thursday reported that Wall Avenue was anticipating such worth hikes because of weak demand for COVID vaccines, which meant vaccine makers would want to hike costs to satisfy income forecasts for 2023 and past.

The US authorities at the moment pays round $30 per dose to Pfizer and German accomplice BioNTech SE. In 2023, the market is anticipated to maneuver to personal insurance coverage after the US public well being emergency expires.

“We’re assured that the US worth level of the COVID-19 vaccine displays its general value effectiveness and ensures the worth won’t be a barrier for entry for sufferers,” Lukin mentioned.

It’s not but clear what sort of entry folks with out medical health insurance should the vaccine.

Pfizer mentioned it expects the COVID-19 market to be in regards to the measurement of the flu shot market on an annual foundation for adults, however that the pediatric market would take longer to construct primarily based on photographs given to this point.

To this point the US rollout of up to date COVID-19 booster photographs which goal each the unique coronavirus pressure and the Omicron pressure has lagged final 12 months’s fee regardless of extra folks being eligible for the photographs.

Round 14.8 million folks within the US obtained a booster shot over the primary six weeks of the rollout of the brand new photographs. Within the first six weeks of the 2021 revaccination marketing campaign, over 22 million folks obtained their third shot despite the fact that solely older and immunocompromised folks have been eligible at that time.

Lukin mentioned she doesn’t anticipate buying of the vaccines to switch to the personal sector till the primary quarter of 2023 “on the earliest.” The transfer relies on the federal government contracted provide being depleted.