Health: Pfizer to provide 10 million courses of Covid pill to developing countries -the Global Fund – Gulf Digital News

Health: Pfizer to provide 10 million courses of Covid pill to developing countries -the Global Fund – Gulf Digital News

Pfizer Inc is expected to provide around 10 million courses of its highly effective Covid-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid to low- and middle-income countries this year, according to an official with the Global Fund, a healthcare NGO working to buy the pills from the drugmaker.

The Fund's head of strategy for policy, Harley Feldbaum, said Pfizer had committed to at least that many doses and could increase shipments later if organisations involved show they are able to distribute the pills well, noting most will be available toward the end of the year.

"That's obviously not enough or sufficient" to meet the need in those countries, said Feldbaum, during an online meeting of non-government organisations (NGOs), activists and academics hosted by influential consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.

It is unclear whether there is funding available globally to buy the pills and pay for the infrastructure necessary to distribute them.

Pfizer has said it will charge less for the drug in lower income countries, but has not disclosed a price. For wealthy countries, it said it plans to charge around $700 per treatment course - though its US deal priced Paxlovid at $530.

"We are working with the ACT-A partnership on supply of Paxlovid for low- and