Pfizer to Share Its COVID Pill with Poor Countries

The drug maker¹ Pfizer has signed a deal with a United Nations-supported group to permit other producers to make its experimental COVID-19 pill.

The agreement could make the medicine available to more than half of the world's population.

In a statement released Tuesday, Pfizer said it would permit the Switzerland-based organization Medicines Patent Pool to produce the antiviral drug. That would let generic² drug companies produce the pill for use in 95 countries. About 53 percent of the world's population live in those 95 countries.

The agreement does not include some countries that have struggled with large numbers of coronavirus deaths. For example, a Brazilian drug company could be permitted to make the pill for export to other countries, but the medicine could not be made for use in Brazil.

But health officials note that because the deal was reached even before Pfizer's drug has been approved anywhere, the agreement could help to end the pandemic sooner.

Esteban Burrone is head of policy at Medicines Patent Pool. He said, "It's quite significant that we will be able to provide access to a drug that appears to be effective and has just been developed, to more than 4 billion people."

He estimated that other drug makers³ would be able to start producing the pill within months. But he said he understands that the agreement may not make everyone happy.

"We try to strike a very delicate balance between the interests of the (company), the sustainability required by generic producers and most importantly, the public health needs in lower and middle-income countries," Burrone said.

As part of the agreement, Pfizer will not receive royalties⁴ on sales in poor countries. Royalties means money that is paid to the creator of a product based on how much of the product is sold.

Pfizer will also not get royalties on sales in any countries included in the agreement while COVID-19 remains⁵ a public health emergency.

Earlier this month, Pfizer said its pill cuts the risk of hospitalization and death by nearly 90 percent in people with mild to moderate coronavirus infections. Health experts said the company should stop its trials based on such good results.

Pfizer said it would ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other agencies to approve the pill as soon as possible.

Since the pandemic started spreading last year, researchers around the world have worked to create a drug to treat COVID-19 at home and keep people out of the hospital. Currently, most COVID-19 treatments must be taken through the bloodstream.

Britain approved Merck's COVID-19 pill earlier this month. In a similar deal with the Medicines Patent Pool announced in October, Merck agreed to let other drug makers produce its COVID-19 pill. It is available in 105 poorer countries.

Doctors Without Borders said it was "disheartened" that the Pfizer deal does not make the drug available to the whole world. The group noted⁶ that the agreement announced Tuesday does not include countries like China, Argentina or Thailand.

Yuanqiong Hu is Doctors Without Borders. She said, "The world knows by now that access to COVID-19 medical tools needs to be guaranteed for everyone, everywhere, if we really want to control this pandemic."

Although Pfizer has agreed to share its COVID-19 drug, the company and others have not released their vaccine⁷ instructions for use in other countries. The World Health Organization in South Africa invited pharmaceutical⁸ companies to share online their messenger RNA vaccine instructions and technologies. But no companies have taken part.

Less than 1 percent of Pfizer's COVID-19 shots has gone to poorer countries.

Words in This Story

experimental — adj. made or done in order to see how well something works

generic — adj. not sold or made under a particular brand name

significant — adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect

delicate — adj. easily broken or damaged

sustainable — adj. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed

income — n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.

access — n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

8 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。