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Pfizer's COVID-19 pill to reach developing nations at a lower cost under new agreement

Published November 16, 2021 at 1:06 PM EST
Pfizer Inc. signage is seen on July 22, 2020 in New York City. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
Pfizer Inc. signage is seen on July 22, 2020 in New York City. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)

COVID-19 patients in 95 developing countries — more than half the world’s population — could soon receive lower-cost doses of Pfizer’s new drug to treat the disease.

A new agreement with Pfizer grants a free license to the not-for-profit Medicines Patent Pool, which is backed by the United Nations. They’ll in turn sell Pfizer’s formula to the designated countries, mostly in Africa and Asia.

But the plan is not without controversy. It excludes some nations which have been hit hard with COVID-19, including Brazil, Jamaica, Libya and Iraq.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talk to Charles Gore, executive director of the Medicines Patent Pool, about the new agreement.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.