Japan discards $1.6 billion worth of COVID-19 medicine: Report

Japan's health ministry on Wednesday revealed that it discarded approximately 240 billion yen (around $1.6 billion) worth of COVID-19 oral medications in the fiscal year ending March, after the drugs passed their expiration dates, according to Kyodo News Agency.

The medications — enough to treat roughly 2.5 million people — were purchased at the height of the pandemic and distributed free of charge to hospitals and clinics across the country.

However, many doses remained unused following the government's decision in May 2023 to downgrade COVID-19 to the same category as seasonal influenza, shifting the cost burden to patients.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the discarded stock included 1.75 million doses of Pfizer's nirmatrelvir and 780,000 doses of Merck's molnupiravir.

The government also purchased 2 million doses of Shionogi & Co.'s ensitrelvir, but about 1.77 million remain unused. The report said these are also expected to be discarded once they expire.

More than 70 million people in Japan are estimated to have contracted COVID-19 as of March 2024, while the country reported around 132,000 deaths as of last August.