(Yicai Global) April 4 -- US pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Merck Sharp & Dohme have lowered the prices of their coronavirus drugs in China after medical insurance coverage for Covid-19 treatments stopped at the end last month.

Pfizer's Paxlovid is available at CNY1,790 (USD260) per 30-pill box, down CNY100 (USD15) from its original price, recent information published by Jiangsu’s provincial government showed. The price of MDS' Molnupiravir was cut by CNY74 (USD10.75) to CNY1,426 per 40-capsule bottle. Both changes took effect on April 1.

China's temporary medical insurance coverage policy for Covid treatments ended on March 31. From April 1, people with Covid will have to pay full price for Paxlovid and Molnupiravir instead of just 10 percent. Partial reimbursements for some Covid-19 drugs are still possible, but Paxlovid and Molnupiravir are much more expensive than similar medicines included in the national drug reimbursement list, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration.

Pfizer and MSD are unwilling to cut prices sharply in China, probably so as not to affect their global pricing, industry insiders told Yicai Global. But that also means the space for the two companies to develop in the Chinese market for Covid-19 treatments is quite limited, they added.

Chinese drug developer Genuine Biotech's Azvudine, the only Covid-19 small-molecular pill included in the national drug reimbursement list so far, costs CNY350 per course of treatment. Therefore, other similar drugs should be priced at no more than CNY630 to be covered by the insurance, according to the latest standards.

Three other domestically developed Covid-19 treatments -- Junshi Biosciences' VV116, Simcere Pharmaceutical Group's Xiannuoxin, and Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical's Leruiling -- have also received marketing approval in China. After recent price cuts, they are all still partially covered by the national insurance plan, information from the NHSA showed.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione