More than 30 companies will produce Pfizer's AntiCOVID pill

GENEVA (AP) — More than thirty companies around the world began producing generic versions of Pfizer's coronavirus pill, the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), the UN-sponsored international organization that negotiated the agreement, said on Thursday.

MPP said in a statement that agreements signed with 35 companies should help produce Pfizer's antiviral drug nirmatrelvir, or Paxlovoid, available to more than half of the world's population.

Generic drug producers in a dozen countries in Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Eastern Europe will begin to produce the basic ingredients or the pill itself. Among the companies that received a license offer, they have not yet been able to confirm whether they will be able to participate.

“This will make a huge difference for countries,” said Charles Gore, executive director of the Medicines Patent Pool. He added that the availability of Pfizer's drug in some of the poorest countries is especially crucial. “They have been at the back of the queue for vaccines, so having a treatment like this in the arsenal would be absolutely crucial to preventing deaths.”

Gore estimated that some of the generic companies may be ready to submit their drugs to regulatory approval this year, with some supplies available in 2023.

Pfizer's antiviral drug has reduced the risk of hospitalization and death in people at risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms by up to 90%. It has also been shown to be effective against the omicron variant because it does not attack the viral spike of the coronavirus, where most of the worrying factors reside.

Many of the health experts welcomed the agreement, but pointed to the lingering gaps. Some countries that have suffered devastating outbreaks of COVID-19, such as Brazil, for example, are excluded from the agreement. Under the terms, Brazilian companies can produce the Pfizer pill, but the generic version will not be for sale there.

Pfizer will not receive royalties for the sale of generic versions as long as the coronavirus pandemic remains classified as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.