Under pressure to part with the recipe of its Covid vaccine, Pfizer has changed tack on its promising anti-viral pill and entered into a voluntary licensing pact with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP).
The deal will allow the United Nations-backed MPP to grant sub-licenses to qualified generic medicine manufacturers, with the goal of facilitating greater access to the global population, said a note from Pfizer.
MPP will be able to facilitate additional production and distribution of the investigational antiviral oral pill, given in combination with low dose ritonavir, a known HIV drug.
Pfizer follows in the footsteps of fellow American firm Merck, which also signed a deal with MPP on its “game-changing” oral anti-viral pill molnupiravir late last month. And while they too await regulatory approvals in the US, it has received the go-ahead in the UK.
Unlike Merck’s molnupiravir that has a pact with many Indian generic companies, including Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Sun Pharma and Cipla, Pfizer till date had none in place on its pill.
Indian interest
However, Indian drugmakers told Business Line they would be interested in making the product. Cipla, which has a strong presence in HIV drugs, responded with a clear affirmative, responding to a query on its interest in the Pfizer pill. A DRL spokesperson said: “We would be open to all opportunities.”
A Sun Pharma spokesperson said: “We are open to all options.” More Indian generic players are expected to participate, an industry observer added.
But just as with Merck’s molnupiravir, civil society voices expressed disappointment with the latest Pfizer-MPP deal.
“As the pandemic continues and in light of the ongoing extreme inequity in global vaccine access, oral drugs that can be produced easily and more affordably as generics and supplied by as many as possible producers... could lower the number of severe cases of the disease and reduce the intense burden on health systems.
“Licensing deals by pharmaceutical corporations that create uncertainties and segmentation for generic production and supply continue to be part of the problem rather than part of a real solution,” said humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Agreement contours
Under the Pfizer-MPP agreement, qualified generic medicine manufacturers will be able to supply PF-07321332 in combination with ritonavir to 95 countries, covering up to approximately 53 per cent of the world’s population, Pfizer said.
“Pfizer will not receive royalties on sales in low-income countries and will further waive royalties on sales in all countries covered by the agreement while Covid remains classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization,” it added.