NEW YORK: An influential consumer advocacy group is pressing Pfizer to supply more of its new COVID-19 pill Paxlovid to developing countries this year, concerned that access to the treatment will mirror inequalities in vaccines.
Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, said the letter was the opening salvo of what he expects will be a year-long campaign by the group. Pfizer's Paxlovid is expected to be a key tool in treating COVID-19 after a clinical trial showed that it reduced hospitalisations in high-risk patients by around 90 per cent. The results were significantly better than those from a clinical trial of Merck Inc's rival oral antiviral Molnupiravir.But supply of Paxlovid is extremely limited in the short term.
Pfizer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The drugmaker's revenue in 2022 is expected to top US$100 billion, according to analyst estimates, more than half of that from sales of Paxlovid and its COVID-19 vaccine.