Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) has agreed to provide vaccines and other medicines to low-income countries around the world on a non-profit basis.
The pharma group said it struck an accord at the World Economic Forum in Davos to provide all of its current and future patented vaccines and medicines on a “not-for-profit" basis to lower-income countries.
A total of 45 countries have joined the accord, including Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda, which were the first five countries to sign up for the pledge.
The deal includes 18 countries in the lower to middle-income brackets that have transitioned from low income in the last decade.
Pfizer said the move would benefit approximately 1.2bn people in low-income countries who could otherwise not afford access to healthcare.
“The Accord is an important step toward sustainable health security for countries at every income level,” said His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda.
Pfizer has identified 23 vaccines and medicines to share as part of the deal, including cancer and inflammatory disease treatment.
The US giant was one of the first pharma companies to roll out Covid-19 vaccines internationally and has made some of the biggest profits from these vaccines among its competitors, but equally has been heavily criticised for the lack of supplies of the jab to poorer countries.
In its latest annual results, Pfizer said it had made US$42.6bn from the sale of vaccines in 2021 most of which came from its Covid-19 shot.
By comparison, Britain's AstraZeneca made US$37.4bn of revenue in the period, with approximately 15% of revenue growth relating to its Covid-19 related treatment.
Moderna, meanwhile, said it generated US$6.9bn from the sales of 297mln doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from just US$200mln in the same part of 2020.
Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said: “In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, we committed to using all of the resources and expertise we had at our disposal to help protect populations globally against this deadly virus, as well as to offer treatments to help avoid the worst outcomes when infections do occur.
“As we learned in the global Covid-19 vaccine rollout, supply is only the first step to helping patients. We will work closely with global health leaders to make improvements in diagnosis, education, infrastructure, storage and more. Only when all the obstacles are overcome can we end healthcare inequities and deliver for all patients.”
Today, the company said it is working with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance the development of vaccine candidates to prevent Strep B and other maternal vaccines.