Health Minister Ernst Kuipers hopes to have the ‘corona pill’ Paxlovid from pharmaceutical company Pfizer available in the short term. The negotiations between the Ministry of Health (VWS) and Pfizer are in the “concluding phase”, a spokesperson for the ministry said. The drug is only intended for a very limited group of people. This includes people for whom the corona vaccine does not work or who are, for example, extremely vulnerable because they have just had an organ transplant.
“We would like to have the drug, but not under Pfizer’s current terms,” said a ministry spokesman. The criticism of a few experts on VWS – who say to BNR that they find it incomprehensible that other countries have already purchased the medicine – is not justified, according to VWS. These countries may have less stringent requirements for delivery conditions than the Netherlands.
There is agreement about the price, but not about other conditions that VWS wants to arrange with the manufacturer. “The price is not the problem,” the spokesperson said. The talks are now about, among other things, the delivery and shelf life of the pills. The ministry also wants to know how these drugs compare to other corona variants. “Concluding talks are now underway about this.”
Good alternatives
In addition, the need is not very high, because there are currently also reasonably good alternatives to help the limited group who are eligible for the pills. The advantage is that the pills can be taken at home, says the spokesperson. “We would like to have Paxlovid available as an option.”
The course of Paxlovid can prevent people at increased risk from becoming seriously ill. The medicines should be taken as soon as possible after a corona infection has been diagnosed. The infected patient has to take six pills every 24 hours for five days in a row. It is up to the attending physician to prescribe a course of thirty pills to a patient.