India among 95 nations to benefit from the move
In a major move that will also help India in its fight against Covid-19, pharma giant Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it will allow generic manufacturers to supply its experimental antiviral Covid-19 pill to 95 low-and middle-income countries.
This will be done through a licencing agreement with international public health group Medicines Patent Pool, said the company.
The voluntary licencing agreement between Pfizer and the MPP will allow the United Nations-backed group to grant sub-licences to qualified generic drug manufacturers to make their own versions of PF-07321332. Pfizer will sell the pills it manufactures under the brand name Paxlovid.
“We are extremely pleased to have another weapon in our armoury to protect people from the ravages of Covid-19”, said Charles Gore, Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool in a statement here.
Pfizer will waive royalties on sales in low-income countries. It will also waive them in the other countries covered by the agreement as long as Covid-19 remains classified as a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation, said the company in the statement here.
Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla further said, “We believe oral antiviral treatments can play a vital role in reducing the severity of Covid-19 infections... We must work to ensure that all people — regardless of where they live or their circumstances — have access to these breakthroughs.”