President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden [Image courtesy of the White House]

President Biden aims to ramp up the use of Pfizer‘s (NYSE:PFE) Plaxovid, even though the treatment has been in short supply.

Last year, when Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) and Pfizer were close to winning regulatory authorization for COVID-19 antivirals, many pundits hailed the treatments as a potential gamechanger.

To date, however, the use of antivirals has been limited although demand has been especially high for Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral. Demand for Merck’s molnupiravir has been weak, as a recent article from NPR explains.

Now, Biden’s plan calls for providing the antiviral at no cost immediately after individuals receive a positive COVID-19 test result.

Available under emergency use authorization (EUA), Paxlovid is indicated to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in individuals at least 12 years old who weigh at least 40 kg (about 88 pounds). Currently, use of the drug is limited to those deemed to face a high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.

In the State of the Union address, the President acknowledged that supplies of Paxlovid had been limited but stated that “Pfizer is working overtime to get us one million pills this month and more than double that next month.”

The White House website notes that approximately 4 million treatment courses were available in February, and an additional 1 million would be available in March. In April, Pfizer projects it can provide the U.S. government with an additional 2.5 million courses.

The U.S. has a contract to procure a total of 20 million doses.

An interim analysis of a Phase 3 trial indicated that Paxlovid reduced the risk of COVID-19 related hospitalization or death by 89% compared to placebo.

The White House also plans to help ramp up domestic manufacturing capability to produce an additional 1 billion COVID-19 doses annually.

The U.S. intends to foster R&D related to creating a vaccine that is effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The White House also plans on working with Congress to deliver 1.2 billion additional COVID-19 doses to developing countries.