(Yicai Global) Jan. 9 -- Shares of Huahai Pharmaceutical fell despite the Chinese drugmaker said it is cooperating with Pfizer to accelerate the localized production of the US biomedical giant’s oral Covid-19 drug Paxlovid.

Huahai Pharma [SHA: 600521] closed 3.2 percent down at CNY22.24 (USD3.28) today, after earlier plunging as much as 8.6 percent.

The pair will speed up various works regarding the localized production of Paxlovid to ensure a sufficient supply of the medicine in the Chinese market, The Paper reported today, citing the Zhejiang province-based company.

In August, Huahai Pharma inked an agreement with Pfizer to provide the latter with contracted agent manufacturing services for Paxlovid in the Chinese mainland over the following five years.

China’s National Healthcare Security Administration yesterday released the list of Covid-19 medicines to be included in the national medical insurance catalog, and Paxlovid was not among them because of its high price. On Jan. 7, Pfizer’s treatment was added to China’s temporary medical insurance program at a price of CNY1,890 (USD279) per 30-pill box.

Huahai Pharma is not familiar with the negotiations to include Paxlovid in the country’s medical insurance plan, the firm noted.

Paxlovid is available in the community hospitals of some Chinese cities. Patients can obtain the drug after receiving a prescription from a doctor.

Editor: Futura Costaglione