In its quest to build up its stockpile of COVID-19 drugs, the U.S. government has held talks with Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. about buying its experimental antiviral pill, people familiar with the matter said. But finding the money to pay for it could be a problem.
Two years into the pandemic and after nearly a million deaths in the United States, a stalemate in Congress has left those in charge of building up the country’s drug supplies without the resources to do so. The implications are far-reaching. The government needs more funding to pay for existing orders with companies like Pfizer Inc. and could end up unable to invest in new therapies like Shionogi’s.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.