Pfizer will sell low cost medications to developing nations
26 May 2022
Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, announced on Wednesday that it will sell its patented pharmaceuticals to the world’s poorest countries on a not-for-profit basis as part of a new project revealed at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla told guests at the Swiss mountain resort meeting that “the moment is now to begin reducing this gap” between those who have access to the latest medications and those who do not.
The “An Accord for a Healthier World” program focuses on five areas — infectious illnesses, cancer, inflammation, rare diseases, and women’s health — where Pfizer controls 23 patents, including those for Comirnaty and Paxlovid, as well as its Covid-19 vaccine and oral treatment.
According to Angela Hwang, group president of the Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group, “this transformational commitment will boost access to Pfizer-patented medicines and vaccines available in the United States and the European Union to almost 1.2 billion people.”
Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda have expressed interest in joining, with another 40 countries — 27 low-income and 18 lower-middle-income — able to negotiate bilateral agreements.
“Pfizer’s pledge establishes a new norm,” Rwandan President Paul Kagame said, adding that “further investments and strengthening of Africa’s health institutions and pharmaceutical regulators” are also needed.
Developing countries bear 70% of the world’s disease burden but only receive 15% of global health investment, resulting in disastrous outcomes.
One child in every 13 in Sub-Saharan Africa dies before reaching the age of five, compared to one in every 199 in high-income countries.
Cancer-related mortality is also much greater in low- and middle-income nations, resulting in more deaths in Africa each year than malaria.
The WHO assists disadvantaged countries in receiving vaccinations.
All of this occurs against a backdrop of limited access to the most recent medications
Low cost medications and vaccines take four to seven years longer to reach the poorest countries, and supply chain concerns and underfunded health systems make it difficult for patients to obtain them once they are approved.
“The Covid-19 pandemic underscored the complexity of access to high-quality health care, as well as the injustices that result,” Hwang added.
“We recognize that countries have a multitude of challenges in gaining access to our low cost medications, which is why we have chosen five pilot countries to find and develop operational solutions, and then share those learnings with the remaining countries,” she added.
Vaccine sales lifted Pfizer’s first-quarter revenue by 61%.
Pfizer will concentrate on addressing regulatory and procurement obstacles in the nations while maintaining acceptable supply levels.
The “not-for-profit” price tag includes the low costs of making and transporting each product to an agreed-upon port of entry, with Pfizer only charging for manufacturing and distribution.
If a country already has a lower price tier for a product — for example, vaccines provided through GAVI, a public-private worldwide collaboration — that price will be retained.
