Pfizer to offer low-cost medicines to 45 poor countries

Pfizer announced on Wednesday that it would provide some of the world’s poorest countries with several of its medicines, including the Covid-19 vaccine, at not-for-profit costs. 

The initiative is part of a program that the New York-based pharmaceutical announced at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland. The program, titled “An Accord for a Healthier World,” aims to improve health equity in 45 low-income countries, including Haiti, Syria, Cambodia, North Korea, and several countries in Africa. 

"This includes all 27 low-income countries, as well as all 18 countries that have transitioned from low-income to lower-middle-income classification in the last ten years," said Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla. 

The products that will be supplied include 23 medicines and vaccines that treat several conditions, including Covid-19, leukemia, breast cancer, pneumonia, and meningitis. While the products are widely available in the U.S. and the European Union, several low-income countries either have a small quantity of the medicines available or do not have them at all. 

"This commitment will include all future Pfizer medicines and vaccines as they are launched, discovered, and launched as well,” the CEO added.

Pfizer plans on charging the countries only the manufacturing costs and “minimal” distribution expenses for the medicines, company spokeswoman Pam Eisele said. 

Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, Ghana, and Rwanda, are the first countries to join the program. Additionally, these five countries have pledged to help identify other barriers to healthcare, such as supply chain management, policy, and medical education. These insights will then be “applied to support the rollout for the remaining forty,” Pfizer said.

“What we discovered through the pandemic was that supply was not enough to resolve the issues that these countries are having,” said Bourla on Wednesday during a talk at Davos.

As part of the program, the pharmaceutical will also help with public education, health care training, and drug supply management. 

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization asked Pfizer to make its Covid-19 vaccinations more accessible in low-income countries.