AS part of a new initiative to ensure equity in the supply and sale of much-needed medicines throughout the world, United States pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said it would be selling most of its patented drugs at a not-for-profit basis to the world’s poorest countries.
Pfizer made the announcement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying that the initiative, known as ‘An Accord for a Healthier World’, will focuses on five key 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 president Angela Wang cited in a mdeia briefing.
In support, five countries—namely Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda—have expressed their commitment to join the effort, and with a further 40 countries—27 low-income and 18 lower-middle-income—identified as eligible to sign bilateral agreements to participate.
Based on figures, developing countries experience 70 percent of the world’s disease burden but they receive only 15 percent of global health spending that lead to devastating outcomes. Across sub-Saharan Africa, one child in 13 dies before their fifth birthday, compared to one in 199 in high-income countries. Cancer-related mortality rates are also far higher in low and middle-income countries—causing more fatalities in Africa every year than malaria. All this is set to a backdrop of limited access to the latest drugs.
