The accord was previously announced in May 2022, which saw Pfizer begin with a trial run of five countries: Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda. The plan had been to expand this to a further 40 countries of lower and lower-middle-income countries.
Pfizer has confirmed that this will now take place, and it will also boost the offering beyond its proprietary portfolio to also include off-patent products. As a result, the company will make 500 products available to the countries on a not-for-profit basis. The announcement arrived as part of the World Economic Forum held in Davos.
According to the company, the range of medicines offered could treat one million new cancer cases each year, and help to prevent approximately 1.5 million deaths from bacterial infections, in the countries selected.
“We launched the Accord to help reduce the glaring health equity gap that exists in our world. Our hope is to empower country governments and co-create solutions with them and other multi-sector partners to break down many of the system-level barriers to better health,” said Pfizer chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla.
Pfizer outlines that since the accord was first announced, the company has provided Rwanda delivery of nine medicines and vaccines for the treatment of certain cancers, as well as infectious and inflammatory diseases. The company also provided professional healthcare education and training to support the delivery of the products.
Beyond Rwanda, the company stated that collaboration is also underway with the health ministries in Malawi, Ghana, and Senegal, as well as other countries included in the accord.
Moving into the future, Pfizer outlined that as it launches new medicines and vaccines, these products would also be included in the portfolio and offered to the included countries on a not-for-profit basis.
The company’s decision to offer its portfolio on a not-for-profit basis also follows on from Pfizer providing supply of its oral COVID-19 treatment, Paxlovid, on a similar basis to certain countries.
Announced in October 2022, the initiative saw Pfizer promise to supply six million oral treatments to 132 countries, with a ‘tiered pricing approach’, which saw low- and lower-middle-income countries pay a not-for-profit price. Countries that were deemed to be upper-middle-income would be expected to pay a price defined by Pfizer’s tiered system.
