Government to buy Pf izer antiviral drug

New Zealand has agreed to buy 60,000 courses of Pfizer’s oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19 in anticipation of it being approved for use by medicine regulator Medsafe.

The medicine, which can be taken as a tablet and used to stop people with mild symptoms becoming very sick, is due to arrive in April. It has not yet had its brand name released.

The Government’s drugbuying agency, Pharmac, has already negotiated a deal to buy 60,000 courses of another antiviral pill molnupiravir, also for moderate cases and still awaiting Medsafe approval.

‘‘Vaccinations and following the scan-mask-pass routine are still the best ways of stopping the spread of Covid-19, but it’s important we also have a range of medicines to treat those who do get sick,’’ Health Minister Andrew Little said yesterday.

‘‘Both drugs are still subject to approval by Medsafe, but trials look promising, and by securing access to both we are doing everything possible to make sure New Zealanders have available medicines that are easy to administer and prevent most people who contract Covid-19 from being so sick they need to go to hospital.’’

Pfizer’s new antiviral works by binding to an enzyme and preventing the cleavage of certain proteins necessary to create a fully functioning virus.

Molnupiravir works by introducing copying errors during replication, which meant you were less likely to get a fully functioning virus, Little said.

‘‘Both drugs are still subject to approval by Medsafe, but trials look promising.’’ Andrew Little Health Minister

Covid-19 medicine had already had an impact on the number of people needing ICU-level care, he said.

‘‘Alongside vaccinations, our hospital treatments are already reducing the likelihood of people needing ICU care, with the ICU rate in Auckland dropping to 3 per cent of hospitalisations, down from 5.7 per cent previously.’’

Pharmac has secured a total of six Covid treatments, including baricitinib, remdesivir, tocilizumab and ronapreve.

The Government has allocated $300 million for Covid-19 therapeutics.