Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced that it has significantly expanded its commitment to An Accord for a Healthier World to offer the full portfolio of medicines and vaccines for which it has global rights on a not-for-profit basis to enable greater health for 1.2 billion people living in 45 lower-income countries.
Launched in May 2022, the Accord, a transformative initiative focused on greatly reducing health inequities that exist between many lower-income countries and the rest of the world, initially included a commitment from Pfizer for access to all its patented medicines and vaccines available in the U.S. or European Union on a not-for-profit basis to 45 lower-income countries. However, to better align with disease burden and unmet patient needs in these countries, Pfizer will now expand its offering under the Accord to include off-patent products, bringing the total offering from 23 products to around 500 products.
The Accord portfolio offering now includes both patented and off-patent medicines and vaccines that treat or prevent many of the greatest infectious and non-communicable disease threats faced today in lower-income countries. This includes chemotherapies and oral cancer treatments that have the potential to treat nearly one million new cancer cases in Accord countries each year(1). It also includes a wide range of antibiotics, that can help to address the rising morbidity, mortality and costs associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and help to prevent around 1.5 million deaths that occur each year in these countries as a result of bacterial infections in hospitals and community health clinics(2). As Pfizer launches new medicines and vaccines, those products will also be included in the Accord portfolio on a not-for-profit basis.
"We launched the Accord to help reduce the glaring health equity gap that exists in our world. Our hope is to empower country governments and co-create solutions with them and other multi-sector partners to break down many of the system-level barriers to better health. In the months since the Accord’s launch, we have heard resoundingly from these leaders that access to a broader and more immediate scope of consistent, high-quality products is needed for meaningful and sustainable transformation. We believe this expansion of our product offering, combined with continued efforts to help address the barriers that limit or prevent access, will help us to achieve and even expedite our vision of a world where all people have access to the medicines and vaccines they need to live longer and healthier lives," said Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla.
Since its launch in May 2022, An Accord for a Healthier World continues to make progress towards its goals to help address global health equity through both medicine and vaccine supply and health system strengthening. Rwanda has already received delivery of nine Pfizer medicines and vaccines for the treatment of certain cancers, infectious and inflammatory diseases. In collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Health, Pfizer has provided professional healthcare education and training to support the delivery, and in November, Pfizer deployed its first Global Health Team to the country to help identify opportunities for long-term supply chain optimization. Collaboration is also underway with the Ministries of Health in Malawi, Ghana and Senegal as well as a number of other Accord countries to better understand the critical healthcare needs and opportunities for health system strengthening.
"The Accord is an important step toward sustainable health security for Rwanda and the broader continent. The expanded portfolio offering, combined with public health system strengthening efforts, will further enhance our progress and offer valuable support to key national health initiatives that lead to positive health outcomes," said His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda.
About An Accord for a Healthier World
An Accord for a Healthier World is working to close the health equity gap that persists between wealthy nations and many lower-income countries. The initiative is focused on enabling greater access to healthcare for 1.2 billion people living in 45 lower-income countries, including all 27 low-income countries as well as 18 lower-middle-income countries that have transitioned from low to lower-middle-income classification in the last ten years. Alongside governments and multi-sector partners, Pfizer is working to co-create scalable solutions that help address systemic barriers to better health focused on finding faster, more efficient pathways for supply of medicines and vaccines as well as strengthening the resources, capabilities and platforms that can enable quick and more sustainable access to those medicines. This includes technical expertise, training, diagnostic capacity, innovative financing and more. Under the Accord, Pfizer has committed to enable access to the full portfolio of medicines and vaccines for which it owns global rights on a not-for-profit basis to national health programs in the 45 Accord countries.
About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients' Lives
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us.
1. Internal calculations based on https://gco.iarc.fr/today/fact-sheets-populations
2. Internal calculations based on Global mortality associated with 33 bacterial pathogens in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019