Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill
London, Nov 16: Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has signed a deal with a U.N. backed group to allow other manufacturers to make its experimental VOID-19 pill, a move that could make the treatment available to more than half of the world's population.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Pfizer said it would grant a license for the antiviral pill to the Geneva-based Medicines Patent Pool, which would let generic drug companies produce the pill for use in 95 countries, making up about 53% of the world's population.
The deal excludes some large countries that have suffered devastating coronavirus outbreaks.
For example, while a Brazilian drug company could get a license to make the pill for export to other countries, the medicine could not be made generically for use in Brazil.
Still, health officials said the fact that the deal was struck even before Pfizer's pill has been authorized anywhere, could help to end the pandemic quicker.
It's quite significant that we will be able to provide access to a drug that appears to be effective and has just been developed, to more than 4 billion people, Esteban Burrone, head of policy at the Medicines Patent Pool, said.
He estimated that other drugmakers would be able to start producing the pill within months, but acknowledged the agreement wouldn't please everyone.
We try to strike a very delicate balance between the interests of the (company), the sustainability required by generic producers and most importantly, the public health needs in lower and middle-income countries, Burrone said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will not receive royalties on sales in low-income countries and will waive royalties on sales in all countries covered by the agreement while COVID-19 remains a public health emergency.
Earlier this month, Pfizer said its pill cut the risk of hospitalisation and death by nearly 90% in people with mild to moderate coronavirus infections. Independent experts recommended halting the company's study based on its promising results.
Pfizer said it would ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators to authorise the pill as soon as possible since the pandemic erupted last year, researchers worldwide have raced to develop a pill to treat COVID-19 that can be taken at home easily to ease symptoms, speed recovery and keep people out of the hospital.
At the moment, most COVID-19 treatments must be delivered intravenously or by injection.
Britain authorised the Merck's COVID-19 pill earlier this month, and it is pending approval elsewhere. In a similar deal with the Medicines Patent Pool announced in October, Merck agreed to let other drugmakers make its COVID-19 pill, molnupiravir, available in 105 poorer countries.
Doctors Without Borders said it was disheartened that the Pfizer deal does not make the drug available to the entire world, noting that the agreement announced Tuesday also excludes countries including China, Argentina and Thailand.
The world knows by now that access to COVID-19 medical tools needs to be guaranteed for everyone, everywhere, if we really want to control this pandemic, said Yuanqiong Hu, a senior legal policy adviser at Doctors Without Borders.
The decisions by Pfizer and Merck to share their COVID-19 drug patents stands in stark contrast to the refusal of Pfizer and other vaccine-makers to release their vaccine recipes for wider production.
A hub set up by the World Health Organisation in South Africa intended to share messenger RNA vaccine recipes and technologies has not enticed a single pharmaceutical to join.
Fewer than 1% of Pfizer's COVID-19 shots have gone to poorer countries.
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Karnataka cabinet approves formation of separate Dharwad Municipal Corporation
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet has approved a formation of separate Dharwad city corporation. Alongside, a 15% hike in fares across the four state transport corporations was also approved. The revised fares will come into effect on January 5.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil, addressing the media at the Committee Hall of Vidhana Soudha, provided details about the decision. He explained that the last fare revision for BMTC was a decade ago when diesel cost Rs 60.98 per litre. Since then, operational costs have risen significantly.
Diesel expenditure for the four corporations has increased from Rs 9.16 crore to Rs 13.21 crore, and personnel costs have grown from Rs 12.85 crore to Rs 18.36 crore. The daily operational burden now stands at Rs 9.56 crore. The fare hike is expected to generate an additional Rs 74.85 crore in monthly revenue without burdening the state exchequer, as Rs 5,015 crore has already been allocated for the Shakti Yojana this fiscal year.
Minister Patil announced that the Cabinet has decided to bifurcate the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation into two independent municipal bodies.
The Cabinet approved the construction of a fishing port in Hejamady village, Udupi, with a revised estimate of Rs 209.13 crore. Additionally, Rs 84.57 crore has been sanctioned for the modernization and dredging of fishing ports.
In a move to strengthen cow shelters, Rs 10.50 crore has been allocated for projects in 14 districts. The Cabinet also approved constructing a building for Visvesvaraya Technical University in Chikkaballapur district at Rs 149.75 crore.
The Cabinet sanctioned a state-of-the-art bus stand in Bannimantap, Mysuru, at a cost of Rs 120 crore. Spread over 14 acres, the facility will include a divisional office, bus units, and commercial shops.
Approval was also granted to utilize Rs 137.85 crore, provided by the Union Finance Ministry under the Special Capital Assistance Scheme, for capital expenditure.
The Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board will use Rs 56.92 crore from its SCP/TSP scheme to supply bed sheets, mosquito nets, and clothing to government residential schools and hostels.
The Cabinet approved Rs 100 crore to construct new buildings for 200 veterinary institutions currently housed in rented or dilapidated structures, using NABARD assistance.
In Davangere, a site was allotted to the Karnataka Working Journalists' Association for constructing a civic facility. A plot in Avaragere village was also leased for 30 years at a concessional rate to Nayaka Vidyarthi Nilaya.
