Pfizer plans to sell its Covid vaccine at a 10k% markup

https://qz.com/pfizer-plans-to-sell-its-covid-vaccine-at-a-10-000-mar-1849688359

by skilled • 4 years ago

36 35 4 years ago

sn0w_crash• 4 years ago

Covid vaccines are a great revenue stream.

Pfizer also says it is the company’s expectation that most privately insured patients will continue not to face out-of-pocket costs for the vaccine [...]

So if you're not directly paying it, it is fine? Because _someone_ has to pay for the insurance.

secabeen• 4 years ago

Yeah, this is a classic bait-and-switch that the Rx companies do. "No patient out-of-pocket!" they tout, as they charge $10k+ to the insurance companies, and by proxy, to the company the employee works for. The Rx company still gets paid the same amount, just through proxies.

chrsig• 4 years ago

To ask a naive question:

What is it about the flu & covid that require annual boosters? Is it just the prevalence of it creating different variants at a higher rate than other viruses?

Is there a reason beyond cash incentive?

smt884• 4 years ago

Is it just the prevalence of it creating different variants at a higher rate than other viruses?

Yes. Mutation is also driven partly by infection rates, so a virus that mutates slowly and infects 1 billion people is going to produce dangerous new strains more rapidly than a virus that mutates quickly and infects 100 people.

Is there a reason beyond cash incentive?

Yes. Flu vaccines targeted at emerging strains are much, much more effective.

"This year's" flu vaccine is never 100% effective on any strain (which is true of all vaccines), but there's a huge difference between a vaccine that's 80% effective for the majority of flu infections vs. a vaccine that's 20% effective.

landemva4• 4 years ago

Consider the individual's risk profile (such as age, obesity, etc.) and consider the risks of the medical treatment. All medical treatments have side effects and risks.

For a typical child, there is no benefit to a yearly Covid shot, though a yearly flu shot may be worthwhile.

In consultation with my Dr., I get neither of these.

iLoveOncall2• 4 years ago

They mention a production cost of $1.20 per vial, but I imagine this only involves the actual production and not what the initial R&D has cost, so the figure of 10,000% is probably largely exaggerated.

10,000% also sounds a lot worst than "$130 per vial for a production cost of $1.20".

I don't find the price shocking.

7speter• 4 years ago

It seems they might also be covering costs for when a vial gets opened for a shot or two and then has to be thrown away after being above freezing for too long.

brianwawok2• 4 years ago

No in the new pricing it’s single dose vials.

But even today they are making a 5 dose vial for $9 and selling each shot for $30. If they throw away 4 they still made money.

sschueller• 4 years ago

The R&D at either Moderna or Pfizer was paid for by tax payers.

iLoveOncall2• 4 years ago

Pfizer did not accept federal funding to help develop or manufacture the vaccine

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/heal...

"Tax payers" also means nothing when vaccines are developed in one or a few countries but sold to all countries in the world. Pretty sure Zimbabwean tax payers didn't fund the Pfizer vaccines.

gchaincl• 4 years ago

I wonder if that production cost covers the initial R&D costs

TheLoafOfBread• 4 years ago

But those were paid by EU and I would assume USA during 2020?

https://sciencebusiness.net/covid-19/news-byte/how-eu-spent-...

lizardactivist• 4 years ago

Is this after all the other raises? Wasn't there a 20% hike last year when it was clear there was going to be a whole lot more doses needed?

Don't be naive and think that Big Pharma's #1 priority is anything but money.

_-david-_• 4 years ago

Just create a subscription. $50 a year gets you two boosters a year.

vparikh• 4 years ago

There are key differences between an emergency and traditional model that increase the costs of making and distributing the COVID-19 vaccine,” Pfizer told Quartz via email. These costs, the company says, include distributing through multiple channels and payers instead of one, as well as producing the doses in single vials, which can be up to three times more expensive and run into higher transportation costs.

Did Pfizer just admit that single payer systems are more economical than the privatized mess we have in the US????

mort96• 4 years ago

Yes, and they also seem to have admitted that the costs they're encountering are on the order of 3x, not 100x?

cyanydeez• 4 years ago

Capitalism means a million dollar boner pill is just as likely as a million boner pills for 1$.

retinaros4• 4 years ago

lets remember that shkreli character was assasinated because he did a similar feat (while making it free for uninsured people) and that helped making his jail sentence worse while also being harassed by the media and people on social networks.

Pfizer plans to sell its Covid vaccine at a 10k% markup

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