<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Two items below</span></i><font face="Times New Roman, serif" size="3" class=""><i class="">…</i></font></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></i></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/11/16/far-enough-pfizers-covid-drug-license-excludes-almost-half-global-population" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/11/16/far-enough-pfizers-covid-drug-license-excludes-almost-half-global-population</a><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">'Far From Enough': Pfizer's Covid Drug License Excludes Almost Half of the Global Population<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">By Kenny Stancil<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" class="">11/16/21</span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div class=""><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><strong class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">While many observers called</span></strong><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class=""> Pfizer's new licensing agreement allowing generic drug manufacturers to produce its promising Covid-19 treatment a welcome step, public health experts also condemned the deal for shutting out nearly half of the world's population—and asked why the pharmaceutical giant remains unwilling to share vaccine know-how and technology.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><div style="border-style: none none none solid; border-left-width: 4.5pt; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); padding: 0in 0in 0in 14pt; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><p class="pullquote" style="margin: 2rem 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 25.5pt; border: none; padding: 0in; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; float: right; right: -140px;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65); letter-spacing: -0.05pt;" class="">"Billions of people will still be left without as the deal excludes many developing countries."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></p></div><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">A recent interim study <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizers-novel-covid-19-oral-antiviral-treatment-candidate" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">found</span></b></a> that Paxlovid, Pfizer's potential Covid-19 oral antiviral treatment, reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with Covid-19. The pharmaceutical company on Tuesday <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/pfizer-asks-fda-authorize-covid-antiviral-pills-rcna5715" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">asked</span></b></a> the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize the pill, which it has already started manufacturing, as soon as possible.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">While Paxlovid—which combines candidate PF-07321332 and ritonavir, a U.S. <a href="https://www.aidsmap.com/news/aug-2004/us-government-will-not-override-abbotts-ritonavir-patent" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">taxpayer-funded</span></b></a> antiretroviral drug—is awaiting comprehensive data analysis, regulatory review, and World Health Organization guidance, Pfizer also <a href="https://twitter.com/jamie_love/status/1460596584014663681" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">announced</span></b></a> Tuesday that it would grant a royalty-free license for the pill to the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Although the move "would let generic drug companies produce the pill for use in 95 countries, making up about 53% of the world's population," the <em class="">Associated Press</em> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-technology-business-pfizer-inc-health-d4b4d2f5d2e001cc3573526e680c07f8" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">reported</span></b></a>, it "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."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">In response, Robbie Silverman, People's Vaccine Alliance spokesperson and Oxfam America's senior advocacy advisor, <a href="https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/press-releases/reaction-to-pfizer-voluntary-licensing-of-covid-19-antiviral-treatment/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">said</span></b></a> that Pfizer's licensing decision "is welcome but is far from enough."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">"It means billions of people in developing countries will be able to access the treatment through generic production," Silverman noted in a statement, "but billions of people will still be left without as the deal excludes many developing countries</span><strong class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class=""> </span></strong><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">like Iraq and Lebanon."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Yuanqiong Hu, senior legal policy advisor at Médecins Sans Frontières' (MSF) Access Campaign, <a href="https://msfaccess.org/msf-response-license-between-pfizer-and-medicines-patent-pool-new-covid-19-treatment-paxlovid" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">said</span></b></a> in a statement that Pfizer's patent pool offer "again shows how voluntary licenses come up short and do not harness the full capacity available globally for sufficient and sustainable production and supply of lifesaving medical tools for all. Many upper-middle-income countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Malaysia, and Thailand, where established generic production capacity exists, are excluded from the license territory."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">MSF—also known as Doctors Without Borders— is "disheartened to see yet another restrictive voluntary license during this pandemic while cases continue to rise in many countries around the world," said Hu. "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."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">More than 5.1 million people and counting have <a href="https://covid19.who.int/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">died</span></b></a> from Covid-19, including over four million since India and South Africa first introduced their <a href="https://twitter.com/Shaillytweeting/status/1460209919710441477" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">widely supported</span></b></a> motion to temporarily waive the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. Suspending coronavirus-related patent protections for the duration of the pandemic would enable qualified factories to boost the artificially limited global supply of tests, treatments, and vaccines, but Big Pharma and a handful of rich nations have stonewalled the proposal.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Just 4.6% of people living in low-income nations have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, compared with nearly 73% in high-income countries, <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-people-vaccinated-covid?time=2021-11-15&country=High+income~Upper+middle+income~Lower+middle+income~Low+income" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">according to</span></b></a> the latest figures from Our World in Data. Earlier this week, public health experts issued fresh <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/11/15/concerning-new-covid-variant-spotlights-dangers-vaccine-apartheid" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">warnings</span></b></a> that the longer this glaring inequality persists, the higher the chances that a vaccine-resistant variant will emerge, endangering millions of lives and livelihoods around the globe.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Given the ongoing gap in vaccination rates between rich and poor countries, which health justice advocates have dubbed "<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/09/24/african-leaders-condemn-vaccine-apartheid-indictment-humanity" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">vaccine apartheid</span></b></a>," MSF <a href="https://msfaccess.org/msf-response-license-between-pfizer-and-medicines-patent-pool-new-covid-19-treatment-paxlovid" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">said</span></b></a> Tuesday that "oral drugs that can be produced easily and more affordably as generics and supplied by as many as possible producers, together with the rollout of Covid-19 diagnostic testing, could lower the number of severe cases of the disease and reduce the intense burden on health systems."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">However, the organization added, "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."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">"Equitable access to new treatments and other Covid-19 medical tools," Hu stressed, "will only be possible if these are priced close to the cost of production and supplied in sufficient quantities."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Pfizer has yet to disclose prices for Paxlovid but is expected to charge similar amounts as its rival, Merck, which has also developed a Covid-19 oral antiviral treatment.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">In early October, Merck <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/10/06/entirely-unsurprising-merck-slammed-4000-markup-taxpayer-funded-covid-drug" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">announced</span></b></a> that it would charge high-income countries more than $700 per patient for molnupiravir, a 4,000% markup on the U.S. <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/10/05/covid-pill-drug-pricing-merck-ridgeback/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">taxpayer-funded</span></b></a> pill that costs just $17.74 to produce. Almost immediately, rich nations rushed to buy up supplies of the drug, provoking <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/10/12/therapeutics-nationalism-poor-risk-being-left-behind-rich-buy-new-covid-drug" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">fears</span></b></a> of an imminent "therapeutics nationalism" akin to the "<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/18/global-health-experts-caution-against-vaccine-nationalism-scientists-search-solution" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">vaccine nationalism</span></b></a>" that has resulted in wealthy countries hoarding—and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/11/15/just-scandalous-uk-threw-out-600000-covid-vaccine-doses-august" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">wasting</span></b></a>—lifesaving doses.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Late last month, Merck negotiated a similar deal with the Medicines Patent Pool to allow generic drug manufacturers to produce its pill for use in 105 countries—a move that was, like Pfizer's new agreement, simultaneously welcomed and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/10/27/mercks-patent-pool-offer-not-enough-global-access" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">critiqued</span></b></a> as inadequate in the face of a devastating global public health emergency that demands universal access.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Pfizer, meanwhile, is "expected to apply a 'tiered pricing' strategy based on the income level of each country," according to MSF, which criticized such an approach for letting corporations retain the power to make unilateral calls on matters of life-and-death.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><div style="border-style: none none none solid; border-left-width: 4.5pt; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); padding: 0in 0in 0in 14pt; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><p class="pullquote" style="margin: 2rem 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 25.5pt; border: none; padding: 0in; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; float: right; right: -140px;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65); letter-spacing: -0.05pt;" class="">"Relying on the voluntary actions of pharmaceutical companies alone will not secure urgently needed access to tests, medicines, and vaccines for everyone, everywhere."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></p></div><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">"We know from experience," said Hu, that "a tiered-pricing strategy... is unnecessarily complex, keeps the decision-making power entirely in the hands of the pharmaceutical corporations, and results in higher prices in many countries."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">"We have witnessed Pfizer's continued resistance to share its Covid-19 mRNA vaccine technology broadly, and are now seeing Pfizer taking very limited action on therapeutics," Hu continued. "If Pfizer really wants to live up to its promise to contribute to equitable access to this new treatment, it should clearly state that [it] will not stand in the way of open generic production and competition," and it should "lift any kind of intellectual property monopoly during this pandemic."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">In addition, "Pfizer should also refrain from seeking any new monopolies on ritonavir, either solely or in combination with the other compound," said Hu. The drug, which has been off patent since last year, "remains an important part of some antiretroviral regimens for people living with HIV."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">"It is extremely important that governments continue to use all means, including refusing to grant any patents on this treatment, and the adoption of the 'TRIPS Waiver' at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference at the end of November," Hu added, "to ensure that there are no restrictions on generic production of this and other Covid-19 treatments anywhere, in order to ensure true global access and save as many lives as possible."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Oxfam's Silverman, for his part, emphasized that despite all of its shortcomings, Pfizer's voluntary licensing agreement "begs the important question: If Pfizer can share data and intellectual property on a medicine, why have they so far categorically refused to do so for their Covid vaccine?"<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">"Perhaps the answer," he said, "is in the profit they continue to reap thanks to their monopoly, hundreds of dollars every single second."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">Pfizer has raked in <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/11/02/making-killing-amid-pandemic-pfizer-boosts-vaccine-sales-forecast-36-billion" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">billions of dollars</span></b></a> in profits thanks to corporate-friendly intellectual property rules at the WTO, which allow Big Pharma to monopolize publicly funded knowledge and technology. While rejecting demands to share its vaccine recipe with other drug manufacturers to ramp up global production, the company has <a href="https://webassets.oxfamamerica.org/media/documents/A_Dose_of_Reality-Briefing_Note_kOW1yUs.pdf" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(19, 128, 232);" class="">sold</span></b></a> nearly two billion doses almost exclusively to wealthy nations, with less than 1% of its jabs going to impoverished countries.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">According to Silverman, Tuesday's licensing agreement "shows that Pfizer is feeling the pressure from global campaigners. But it is clear that relying on the voluntary actions of pharmaceutical companies alone will not secure urgently needed access to tests, medicines, and vaccines for everyone, everywhere. Only concerted action by governments to force them to share technology, know-how, and intellectual property will achieve this."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(64, 65, 65);" class="">"All governments must move to immediately support the proposal of South Africa and India at the World Trade Organization for a temporary waiver on all Covid-19 medical technologies," Silverman added, "and they must also insist on the mandatory transfer of vaccine technology to the many competent manufacturers all over the developing world who stand ready to produce the vaccines."</span></p><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""><br class=""><a href="https://msfaccess.org/msf-response-license-between-pfizer-and-medicines-patent-pool-new-covid-19-treatment-paxlovid" class="">https://msfaccess.org/msf-response-license-between-pfizer-and-medicines-patent-pool-new-covid-19-treatment-paxlovid</a><br class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class=""><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 46px; background-color: rgb(236, 0, 0);">MSF response to license between Pfizer and Medicines Patent Pool for new COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid</span></div><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class=""><div class="field-quotes-facts__quotes" style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: 36px; line-height: 1.25; font-family: Cormorant, serif; font-weight: 600;"><div class="body field--label-hidden field--type-text-with-summary field__item field" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.5em;">This again shows how voluntary licenses come up short and do not harness the full capacity available globally for sufficient and sustainable production and supply</div></div></div></div><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;"><em class="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">16 November 2021</em> — Pfizer <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizers-novel-covid-19-oral-antiviral-treatment-candidate" rel=" noopener" target="_blank" class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(49, 112, 159); text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.4s;">recently shared</a> positive interim results for its COVID-19 oral antiviral investigational candidate PF-07321332 in combination with ritonavir (Paxlovid), which is considered a promising treatment, pending regulatory review, WHO guidance and full data analysis. Pfizer has not disclosed a price for this treatment but have mentioned they will price it similarly to Merck’s pricing for the COVID-19 treatment molnupiravir, at around US$700 per treatment course in high-income countries. For low- and middle-income countries, Pfizer is expected to apply a ‘tiered pricing’ strategy based on the income level of each country. </p><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;">Today, Pfizer and the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool announced a voluntary license on this treatment. 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, together with the rollout of COVID-19 diagnostic testing, 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. </p><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;">There is no patent yet on the experimental candidate PF-07321332, and ritonavir has been off patent since last year. In the absence of patents on both compounds, able manufacturers, particularly those based in countries excluded from this license, have an opportunity to explore generic production directly. The possible evolving patent landscape shows the urgency for countries to adopt the TRIPS waiver for COVID19 and use all legal options to remove barriers and uncertainties hindering uninterrupted generic productions and supplies. </p><hr class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;"><span class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Yuanqiong Hu, Senior Legal Policy Advisor, MSF Access Campaign</span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;">“Pfizer’s license with the Medicines Patent Pool for its potential oral antiviral treatment offers supply to 95 countries by generic companies that take up the license, covering about 53% of the world’s population, but this again shows how voluntary licenses come up short and do not harness the full capacity available globally for sufficient and sustainable production and supply of lifesaving medical tools for all. Many upper middle-income countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Malaysia and Thailand, where established generic production capacity exists, are excluded from the license territory.</p><section data-embed-button="custom_block" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:block_content.embed" data-entity-type="block_content" data-entity-uuid="11bdd7b8-6b7d-4254-a043-15203a1cdeb2" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity quotes-facts-widget-embed align-right" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: right; margin: 5px -160px 10px 30px; max-width: 300px; text-align: center; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><div class="field-quotes-facts" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); max-width: 345px;"><div class="field-quotes-facts__quotes" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: 36px; line-height: 1.25; font-family: Cormorant, serif; font-weight: 600;"><div class="body field--label-hidden field--type-text-with-summary field__item field" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.5em;"><br class=""></div></div></div><div class="sharethis-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; position: relative; width: auto; margin-top: 25px; margin-left: 19px; z-index: 1; display: inline-block;"><span st_url="https://msfaccess.org/msf-response-license-between-pfizer-and-medicines-patent-pool-new-covid-19-treatment-paxlovid" st_title="This again shows how voluntary licenses come up short and do not harness the full capacity available globally for sufficient and sustainable production and supply" class="st_facebook_custom" displaytext="facebook" st_processed="yes" style="box-sizing: inherit; position: relative; display: inline-block; width: 24px; height: 24px; margin-right: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; line-height: 24px; cursor: pointer; transition: all 0.3s; background-position: 0px 0px;"></span> <span st_url="https://msfaccess.org/msf-response-license-between-pfizer-and-medicines-patent-pool-new-covid-19-treatment-paxlovid" st_title="This again shows how voluntary licenses come up short and do not harness the full capacity available globally for sufficient and sustainable production and supply" class="st_twitter_custom" displaytext="twitter" st_processed="yes" style="box-sizing: inherit; position: relative; display: inline-block; width: 24px; height: 24px; margin-right: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; line-height: 24px; cursor: pointer; transition: all 0.3s; background-position: 0px 0px;"></span> <span st_url="https://msfaccess.org/msf-response-license-between-pfizer-and-medicines-patent-pool-new-covid-19-treatment-paxlovid" st_title="This again shows how voluntary licenses come up short and do not harness the full capacity available globally for sufficient and sustainable production and supply" class="st_linkedin_custom" displaytext="linkedin" st_processed="yes" style="box-sizing: inherit; position: relative; display: inline-block; width: 24px; height: 24px; margin-right: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; line-height: 24px; cursor: pointer; transition: all 0.3s; background-position: 0px 0px;"></span> <div class="show-more" style="box-sizing: inherit; position: relative; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; margin-left: -10px; margin-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span class="fa fa-plus" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 4px 8px; cursor: pointer;"></span></div></div></div></section><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;">“We are disheartened to see yet another restrictive voluntary license during this pandemic while cases continue to rise in many countries around the world. 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.</p><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;">“As the pandemic has already rattled the public health infrastructure of most low- and middle-income countries, and resources of health ministries are stretched to the maximum, equitable access to new treatments and other COVID-19 medical tools will only be possible if these are priced close to the cost of production and supplied in sufficient quantities. Pfizer is currently talking about a tiered-pricing strategy, which we know from experience is unnecessarily complex, keeps the decision-making power entirely in the hands of the pharmaceutical corporations, and results in higher prices in many countries.</p><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;">“We have witnessed Pfizer’s continued resistance to share its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine technology broadly, and are now seeing Pfizer taking very limited action on therapeutics. If Pfizer really wants to live up to its promise to contribute to equitable access to this new treatment, it should clearly state that they will not stand in the way of open generic production and competition, instead of signing restrictive voluntary licenses, and lift any kind of intellectual property monopoly during this pandemic. Pfizer should also refrain from seeking any new monopolies on ritonavir, either solely or in combination with the other compound, as the drug remains an important part of some antiretroviral regimens for people living with HIV.</p><p class="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5em; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: "Fira Sans", sans-serif;">“It is extremely important that governments continue to use all means, including refusing to grant any patents on this treatment, and the adoption of the ‘TRIPS Waiver’ at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference at the end of November, to ensure that there are no restrictions on generic production of this and other COVID-19 treatments anywhere, in order to ensure true global access and save as many lives as possible.”</p></div><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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