Amid concerns over access to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, Pfizer (PFE) is being urged by a prominent advocacy group to make a recently authorized pill more widely available to poor countries and avoid the inequity problems that have so far plagued the global response to the pandemic.
In a Jan. 24 letter to Pfizer chief executive officer Albert Bourla, Public Citizen argued the company is remiss for entering into supply agreements for its Paxlovid pill that “almost exclusively” cover countries based in North America and Europe while its production output is constrained. Pfizer has indicated that 120 million treatment courses will become available this year.
As a result, the advocacy group maintained supplies will be insufficient for 95 low and middle-income countries, which are supposed to benefit from a recent deal Pfizer signed with the Medicines Patent Pool – a United Nations-backed program that works with generic makers to widen access to medicines. Public Citizen cited a Pfizer investor presentation showing those supplies becoming available in 2023.
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