Pfizer has reached an agreement to allow its pharmaceutical brands COVID | Coronavirus Plague News

Major pharmaceutical group Pfizer has signed an agreement that helps develop and supply its experimental COVID-anti-virus drugs in many low- and middle-income countries.

A joint venture between a US company and a UN-sponsored global health organization, the Medical Patent Pool (MPP) allows manufacturers to manufacture and supply all types of medicines in 95 countries without the threat of patent breach.

Many of the countries included in the treaty are African and Asian, making up about 53 percent of the world’s population.

“Pfizer is still committed to bringing scientific advances to help eradicate the epidemic for all,” said Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive on Tuesday.

“We hope that oral medical care will go a long way in reducing the risk of COVID-19 infections, reducing stress on our medical systems and saving lives,” he said.

Later Tuesday, Pfizer appealed to U.S. authorities to grant permission for the use of the pills in case of emergency.

The company said its delayed tests showed that the pills reduced the risk of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of developing a fatal disease by 89 percent. The trial examined data from 1,219 cases in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

These drugs have been shown to be very effective if taken in the early stages of the disease and are given in combination with the older drug ritonavir.

Bourla told a Reuters news agency in early November that for low-income countries, the company was looking at a number of pricing options, with the goal of “unrestricted access”.

Paramedics Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers, or MSF) said they were “disappointed” by the treaty, noting that several countries including Brazil, Argentina, China and Thailand were excluded from the treaty.

“We are saddened to see another voluntary permit during the epidemic as cases continue to rise in many countries around the world,” said Yuanqiong Hu, senior legal adviser to the MSF Access Campaign.

“If Pfizer really wants to live up to its promise of support for the new system, it must make it clear that it will not stand in the way of generic activism and competition, instead of signing voluntary bans, and promoting everything.

Regina Osih, a physician and specialist in infectious diseases at the Aurum Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa, said the agreement was “very important”.

“These initiatives help everyone to access COVID – they will not exclude anyone, but they will help negotiate accordingly,” he said.

Pfizer’s move came after US company Merck he signs a similar honorary agreement with MPP last month to allow its antiretroviral drug, molnupiravir, to be manufactured and sold at a lower price in 105 developing countries. Merck’s drug was approved by UK authorities earlier this month.

Pfizer and Merck’s move to share their COVID-19 drug patents came amid international pressure on pharmaceutical companies to share and transfer technologies to allow the production of their COVID-19 vaccine. So far vaccinators, including Pfizer, have refused to do so.

Opponents have long argued that reluctance to share vaccine recipes has contributed to the unequal distribution of shot between rich and poor countries.

Of the 7.54 billion jabs donated worldwide, only 4.6 percent of low-income people have ever received one, according to World Health Organization.

💉 A vaccine dose of COVID 7.4 billion has been provided

👥 51% of the world’s population with the same level of population

🌍 Divide by one level
Countries with the highest incomes: 72%
Medium pay: 71%
Average payment: 40%
Minimum amount: 4%

Information about vaccines: https://t.co/3imP7PqURn pic.twitter.com/YrJBwbgDbm

– Our World in Data (@OurWorldInData) November 11, 2021

“Imagine what would have happened if they (vaccinators) had given their professional approval in May 2020,” said Ellen ‘Hoen, director of Medicines Law & Policy, referring to the day the World Health Organization launched the Technology Access Pool (C. -TAP) a platform for companies to share knowledge and vaccination skills.

“Then, we would make production work possible even in places that do not exist today,” he said.