Pfizer has reached a licensing agreement that allows generic drug manufacturers to produce a cheaper version of its COVID-19 pill with an aim to support 95 low and middle-income countries.
South Africa is currently on the list of countries to benefit from this, reports Remo News. The details of the Pfizer agreement was provided to Fin24 on Tuesday by the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP).
The list contained 95 countries that would benefit from the inexpensive COVID-19 pill. These include South Africa, Angola, Afghanistan, Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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MPP is currently calling on potential sub-licensees, based worldwide to manufacture and sell in a licensed territory. The deadline to apply is December 6.
Licensees must have approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) Pre-qualification (WHO-PQ) or Strict Regulatory Authority (SRA). If such approval is not available, provisional or emergency use authorizations can be obtained through WHO or an SRA.
These pills could be taken at the first sign of infection and it is considered crucial to keeping the pandemic under control. Pfizer’s drug has reportedly reduced hospitalisations and deaths by 89% in a large study of high-risk patients.
Currently, the company is applying for an emergency clearance in the US, and has other plans to apply for authorizations in other countries too.
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