Coronavirus: Pfizer offers to sell medicines at cost to poorest countries in new initiative
- ‘This transformational commitment will increase access to Pfizer-patented medicines and vaccines … to nearly 1.2 billion people,’ Pfizer chief Angela Hwang said
- The US pharmaceutical giant currently holds patents for 23 drugs, including Comirnaty and Paxlovid, its Covid vaccine and oral treatment
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Wednesday said it would sell its patented drugs on a not-for-profit basis to the world’s poorest countries, as part of a new initiative announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“The time is now to begin closing this gap” between people with access to the latest treatments and those going without, chief executive Albert Bourla told attendees at the exclusive Swiss mountain resort gathering.
“An Accord for a Healthier World” focuses on five areas: infectious diseases, cancer, inflammation, rare diseases and women’s health – where Pfizer currently holds 23 patents, including the likes of Comirnaty and Paxlovid, its Covid vaccine and oral treatment.
“This transformational commitment will increase access to Pfizer-patented medicines and vaccines available in the United States and the European Union to nearly 1.2 billion people,” Angela Hwang, group president of the Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group, said.
Five countries: Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda have committed to joining, with a further 40 countries – 27 low-income and 18 lower-middle-income – eligible to sign bilateral agreements to participate.
“Pfizer’s commitment sets a new standard, which we hope to see emulated by others,” Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said. But he added that “additional investments and strengthening of Africa’s health systems and pharmaceutical regulators” would also be needed.
