Last year was horrible for all of us due to Covid 19, as there were no drugs, vaccination, remedy, or cure for it. The anxiety started to fade when there was news that vaccines were about to launch soon, which can help in prevention against Covid 19.
Now there is a possibility that drugs are about to launch any time sooner. However, there is a considerable debate over the price of those drugs. The cost of drugs for Coronavirus will be different in all the countries.
Let me explain using an example of a vaccine for hepatitis C. Its cost is around $8,000 in the United States; however, only $45 in India. As their government knows that the majority of the individuals can’t afford medical treatment at this high cost, so they provide it at such minimal cost.
That is the reason it helped them curb Hepatitis C almost completely, even after the vast population. But the US is still struggling with it.
There will be the same case with the cost of the drugs for Covid 19. However, there will be other factors too. Like manufacturing cost involved for it, minimal and marginal profits for pharmacy owners, suppliers, and retailers.
However, everyone is expecting it to be as low as it is possible for individuals to afford it. So that drugs along with vaccines can help eliminate the Coronavirus completely and end this pandemic.
It is hoped that taking these antivirus pills for a few days will help in curing if anyone gets exposed to Coronavirus. However, these vaccines will also help their body to prevent them from this disease.
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Why is the manufacturing cost low for medicines but available in the retail market with a huge profit?
It is always arguable by the manufacturer that these high margins involved their discovery and developmental cost. The layman almost ignores that.
Let’s take another example of the price of a drug. There is drug naming molnupiravir which involves a manufacturing cost of $2.5 only including raw material. Its retail price should be somewhere around 20-30 dollars. But it is available for $700. That is almost 35 times higher than the expected price.
So the question here is, does it really cost this much for them to curb their developmental and discovery cost for that drug. Or we can simply conclude it, as huge profit margins of around 90-95% or more.
But here, it is hoped that drugs for COVID 19 will be available at reasonable prices so that every individual can afford them. That is the only way we can eliminate this virus completely.
