US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Tuesday announced a deal to make its prospective antiviral Covid-19 pill available more cheaply in the world’s least wealthy countries. Under the deal struck with the global Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), Pfizer — which also produces one of the most widely-used Covid vaccines with German lab BioNTech — will not receive royalties from the generic manufacturers, making the treatment cheaper. The pill could potentially help patients avoid severe illness, which can lead to hospitalisation and death, Pfizer said. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal will help create broad access to molnupiravir in 105 low- and middle-income countries. He said pricing for the Pfizer pill had not yet been set, but said that “in a competitive environment… the prices tend to come down” to a low level.

Source: The Guardian November 17, 2021 07:07 UTC