AR
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Around 35 generic drugmakers from across the world are planning to make cheap versions of Pfizer Inc’s highly effective COVID-19 oral antiviral Paxlovid with the aim of providing necessary treatment to 95 poorer countries.
On Thursday, the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) announced that Pfizer signed a deal with a group of pharma companies last year to allow them to make the pills for 95 low-and middle-income countries.
Since the signing of the deal, the company had been working on selecting the drugmakers to license the COVID-19 antiviral medicine.
As per experts, Paxlovid will prove to be an important tool in the ongoing global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The antiviral drug has proved its efficiency by reducing the rate of hospitalisation among high-risk by around 90 percent in a clinical trial. The results of Pfizer's Paxlovid were significantly better than those for Merck & Co’s rival antiviral pill molnupiravir in its clinical trial.
As per reports, both Pfizer and Merck signed deals with MPP to allow the manufacturing of the generic versions of their new drugs in some parts of the world.
Merck also entered into agreements with dozens of drugmakers to make its pill through the support of MPP. Generic versions of its pill are already available in some countries.
However, Pfizer and MPP are not expecting any of the generic drugmakers to be able to manufacture significant supplies of Paxlovid before the end of this year.
According to the MPP, the 35 companies planning to produce generic versions of Paxlovid or its active ingredient are based out of 12 different countries. Some of these companies include the world’s largest generic manufacturers such as Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries , India-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and US-based Viatris Inc.
As per reports, six of these companies will be making the main ingredients for the antiviral drug, while nine drugmakers are planning to turn those ingredients into a finished product. Meanwhile, the remaining companies are planning to both the activities to manufacture the antiviral drug against the COVID-19 virus.
Paxlovid is a two-drug treatment containing a new compound named nirmatrelvir with the older antiviral ritonavir (which is already available as a generic).
In addition, Pfizer will not be receiving royalties from the sale of the generic versions of its drug in view of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) classification of the COVID-19 pandemic as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”.
MPP underlined that after the pandemic period, sales to low-income countries will remain royalty-free. On the other hand, lower-middle-income countries and upper-middle-income countries will be subject to a 5% royalty for sales to the public sector and a 10% royalty for sales to the private sector.
Earlier, Pfizer announced its plans to produce at least 120 million treatment courses of the antiviral drug this year. The company is also expected to supply around 10 million courses of Paxlovid it produces to low-and middle-income countries this year. As per an official with the Global Fund, the healthcare NGO is working on buying the pills from the drugmaker for the greater good of the community during the pandemic crisis.
SOURCE: Khaleej Times