A Year Of Paxlovid - Where Is The Licensed Generic?

Hetero Gets First WHO PQ; Chinese, Korean Companies In The Wings

A year since Paxlovid was launched and The Medicines Patent Pool licensed Pfizer’s nirmatrelvir, we look at a few likely reasons for authorized generics of Paxlovid not turning up and what lies ahead in 2023, as Hetero’s version becomes the first with WHO prequalification while two Chinese and a Korean company wait in the wings.

Paxlovid Pill
What Lies Ahead For Authorized Generics of Paxlovid? • Source: Shutterstock

The Medicines Patent Pool was on to a good thing when it signed a licensing agreement with Pfizer for nirmatrelvir while it was still an investigational COVID-19 antiviral treatment candidate PF-07321332. (Also see "Pfizer And MPP Sign Deal For Generics Of COVID-19 Candidate Paxlovid" - Generics Bulletin, 17 November, 2021.)

The company went on to package the drug with ritonavir to make Paxlovid, for which it gained an emergency use...

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