Pfizer signs deal to expand access to its COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment

On November 16th, Pfizer and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed a voluntary licensing agreement for the former’s COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment drug.

The license agreement will grant easy and affordable access to Pfizer’s antiviral treatment in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs), pending regulatory authorization.

The agreement allows the MPP to issue sub-licenses for the production and distribution of the investigational drug to eligible generic medicines manufacturers, to facilitate greater global access to the treatment.

Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, added that the company would not receive royalties from sales of the antiviral drug in low-income countries.

Pfizer will also waive royalties on sales in all countries included in the agreement if the WHO reclassifies COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

MPP Executive Director, Charles Gore, stated that the drug could play a “critical role in saving lives and aid global efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic”.