Generic drugmakers sign on to make cheap version of Pfizer COVID pill
(VOVWORLD) - Thirty five generic drugmakers around the world will make cheap versions of Pfizer’s highly effective COVID-19 oral antiviral Paxlovid to supply the treatment in 95 poorer countries, the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) said on Thursday.
Paxlovid is expected to be an important tool in the fight against COVID-19 after it reduced hospitalizations in high-risk patients by around 90% in a clinical trial.
But Pfizer and MPP do not expect any of generic drugmakers to be able to manufacture significant supplies of Paxlovid before the end of the year.
The 35 companies that will produce versions of Paxlovid or its active ingredient are based in 12 different countries, the MPP said.
They include some of the world's largest generic manufacturers like Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, India-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and US-based Viatris.