'Oral COVID-19 Treatment' 900,000 Won Per Person?… "Securing Supply Is Essential" vs "It's Expensive"

Government Allocates 36.2 Billion KRW Budget for Therapeutics by Next Year

Oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 from the American company Merck (MSD). / Photo by MSD

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The government has revealed that it is negotiating advance purchase contracts with global pharmaceutical companies for oral COVID-19 treatments, amid predictions that the purchase cost could reach 900,000 KRW per person.

On the 10th, Bae Gyeong-taek, Head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters Situation Team, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and responded to the host's question, "Is it true that the price of the oral treatment could exceed 900,000 KRW per person?" by saying, "We have not yet finalized the contract; we are still in the process of concluding it," and added, "It is difficult to disclose details of individual contracts."

The host then said, "Isn't even 90,000 KRW expensive? Aren't the pharmaceutical companies overcharging?" Bae replied, "That part seems to be true," but added, "If you do not take the oral treatment, you may have to be hospitalized or go to a residential treatment center. We need to calculate and compare the direct costs incurred in such cases and the costs due to inability to engage in economic activities."

Netizens' reactions were mixed. Some commented, "Rapid procurement is essential to overcome the COVID-19 situation," "It should be covered by health insurance so that citizens can purchase it affordably," and "Even if expensive, it is necessary."

On the other hand, some netizens expressed negative views, saying, "Wasn't the reason for not pre-purchasing vaccines because they were expensive?" "I don't understand the government hesitating to buy vaccines priced in the 20,000 KRW range but readily agreeing to buy treatments costing 900,000 KRW," and "Please at least ensure proper vaccine supply."

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. /Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, 16.8 billion KRW has been allocated for COVID-19 treatment purchases this year, and 19.4 billion KRW for next year. Considering that the KDCA previously stated that the supplementary budget for this year includes treatment costs for 18,000 people and next year's budget includes costs for 20 million people, the per-person treatment purchase cost is estimated to be about 950,000 KRW.

The government is currently pursuing advance purchases with multiple global pharmaceutical companies, including Merck. Oral treatments undergoing phase 3 clinical trials overseas include MSD's Molnupiravir, Roche's AT-527, and Pfizer's PF-07321332.

Additionally, domestic treatment development is being supported, with the expectation that more affordable treatments may emerge, and several pharmaceutical products are being monitored. So far, 22 domestic treatments, including 11 oral treatments, have received approval for clinical trial plans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.