Pfizer Deal Lets Outside Companies Make Drugmaker's COVID-19 Pill这笔交易让制造商在某些国家produce the pill, provided they don't try to sell it in a certain set of other nations.

ByThe Epoch Times•Nov 16, 2021

This story originally appeared onThe Epoch Times

Pfizerand a United Nations-backed group announced Monday that the drugmaker would let outside companies make its COVID-19pill.

"Pfizer remains committed to bringing forth scientific breakthroughs to help end this pandemic for all people. We believe oral antiviral treatments can play a vital role in reducing the severity of COVID-19 infections, decreasing the strain on our healthcare systems, and saving lives," Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, said in a statement.

"We must work to ensure that all people—regardless of where they live or their circumstances—have access to these breakthroughs, and we are pleased to be able to work with MPP to further our commitment to equity," he added, referring to the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool.

Charles Gore, executive director of the MPP, said the license is important because the pill, if authorized or approved, "is particularly well-suited for low- and middle-income countries and could play a critical role in saving lives, contributing to global efforts to fight the current pandemic."

The pill has not yet received clearance in any countries but Pfizer plans to seek emergency use authorization from U.S. drug regulators soon, aftera study indicatedit was highly effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization or death when administered within three days of symptomatic COVID-19.

这笔交易让制造商在某些国家produce the pill, provided they don't try to sell it in a certain set of other nations. It is royalty-free until the World Health Organization declares the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern regarding COVID-19.

The pact between Pfizer and the pool comes several weeks after Merckagreed to a similar contract. Pfizer excluded 17 countries that were part of Merck's agreement but added seven others, for a total of 95. Both deals target countries with lower per capita incomes, according toan analysisby Knowledge Ecology International, though Pfizer did include some upper-middle-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The new agreement "will allow the rapid scale up of manufacturing of what appears to be an effective and safe treatment for COVID-19," James Love, director of the group, said in a statement.

"Pfizer deserves credit for engaging with the MPP and agreeing to transparency, open and procompetitive licensing in the middle of a pandemic for this product," he added.

Yuanqiong Hu, a senior legal policy adviser at Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement that it had hoped Pfizer would let additional countries manufacture the pill, including China, Argentina, and Thailand.

"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," Hu said.

ByZachary Stieber

Zachary Stieber covers U.S. news, including politics and court cases. He started at The Epoch Times as a New York City metro reporter.

The Epoch Times

The Epoch Times, founded in 2000, is headquartered in Manhattan, New York, with a mission to provide independent and accurate information free of political bias or corporate influence. The organization was established in response to censorship within China and a lack of global awareness regarding the Chinese regime's repression of the spiritual practice Falun Gong.

The Epoch Times is a widely read newspaper that is distributed in 33 countries and is available in 21 languages. The publication has been critical in providing balanced and detailed reporting on major global events such as the 2003 SARS pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis. Notably, the organization has played a key role in exposing corruption inside China.

Aside from its human rights coverage, The Epoch Times has made significant contributions in a variety of fields. It has received praise for its in-depth analysis and expert perspectives on business, the economy and U.S. politics. The newspaper has also received praise for its broad coverage of these topics.

A series of editorials titled "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" appeared in The Epoch Times in 2004. It asserts that freedom and prosperity in China can only be achieved by eliminating the Communist Party, which violated China's cultural and spiritual values. In addition, the organization led the Tuidang movement, which resulted in over 400 million Chinese citizens quitting the Communist Party. In spite of this, 90% of websites referring to the "Nine Commentaries" were blocked by the Chinese regime.

The Epoch Times has been at the forefront of investigating high-level corruption cases within the Chinese regime, with its reporters taking significant risks to uncover these stories. The organization has received several awards for its investigative journalism.

The organization has received several awards for its investigative journalism. For more, visitwww.theepochtimes.com.