On February 11, the State Food and Drug Administration approved the import registration of the combined packaging of nevitavir tablets / ritonavir tablets (paxlovid), a covid-19 virus therapeutic drug of Pfizer, with conditions attached. This means that China finally has the first oral covid-19 drug.
Previously, paxlovid has been listed in the United States, the European Union, Japan and other countries around the world. In order to expand accessibility, Pfizer is actively improving production capacity. From the public statement, Pfizer has increased the expected supply of paxlovid in 2022 from 50 million treatment courses to 80 million, and then to 120 million treatment courses (about 3.6 billion tablets).
Pfizer also said that due to the three-year shelf life of paxlovid, some countries have said they want to reserve paxlovid.
expand production capacity in 2022
Paxlovid or become a heavy product. It is reported that paxlovid received $76 million in revenue within one week after obtaining the emergency use authorization in the United States. If it reaches 120 million treatment courses in 2022, paxlovid’s sales in that year can reach about $22 billion.
Facing such a market opportunity, Pfizer has begun to spare no effort to expand production capacity. “Although the production capacity of 3.6 billion tablets is challenging, it is feasible.” Pfizer said that this is because the manufacturing and expansion of paxlovid is not as complex as mRNA vaccine. Although the production process of some active ingredients is difficult, the production of other ingredients is relatively simple.
Pfizer plans to complete the required amount of drugs for 30 million courses of treatment in the first half of 2022 and 90 million courses of treatment in the second half of 2022.
At the same time, Pfizer is also looking for new production capacity bases around the world. According to Reuters, Pfizer has selected some production bases of Novasep, a French pharmaceutical company, to produce paxlovid intermediate (API). At present, Pfizer has completed technology transfer and other work. Pfizer also said that other producing areas in Italy, Ireland and other places will also be included in paxlovid’s supply chain.
cdmo enterprises in China “take the wind first”
On February 11, Porton Pharma Solutions Ltd(300363) (300363. SZ) announced that the company had received a new batch of cdmo purchase orders from Pfizer’s subsidiaries, with a total order amount of 681 million US dollars (about 4.337 billion yuan), exceeding 50% of the company’s audited operating revenue in the latest fiscal year; The order delivery time is 2022.
However, is paxlovid the mysterious order from Pfizer subsidiary? Porton Pharma Solutions Ltd(300363) did not disclose any more.
A large pharmaceutical company received 1.382 billion US dollars (about 1.382 billion US dollars) of new orders last year, and a batch of new orders of about 1.382 billion US dollars (about 1.382 billion US dollars) were announced in the announcement of s002.3 billion US dollars respectively. The delivery time of orders is from 2021 to 2022. Although there was no solid hammer, at that time, people speculated that these orders were directed to Pfizer’s paxlovid.
It is not surprising that local cdmo enterprises undertake large international orders, whether they are solid or not.
According to the research report issued by Sun Jian and Guo Shuangxi, analysts of Zhejiang securities, local cdmo enterprises have been recognized by global pharmaceutical enterprises in terms of compliance capacity and operating efficiency. As a “seller’s market”, short-term undertaking covid-19 related orders is the embodiment of enterprise capability verification.
However, “from a longer perspective, local capacity continues to improve. In global emergencies, stronger adaptability, more stable supply chain system and more efficient delivery efficiency are the core variables for local cdmo enterprises to achieve long-term development.” According to the above research report.
This time, the indication for Paxlovid’s approval in China is: for patients with mild to moderate New Coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) who are accompanied by severe risk factors for adult development, specifically, those who are associated with severe risk factors such as advanced age, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic lung disease.
