To The Moon

Pfizer shares rose more than 2% in morning trading.Thirty five generic drugmakers around the world will make cheap versions of Pfizer Inc's highly effective COVID-19 oral antiviral Paxlovid to supply the treatment in 95 poorer countries, the U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) said on Thursday.

Pfizer struck a deal last year with the group to allow generic drugmakers to make the pills for 95 low- and middle-income countries. They have been working since then to select the drugmakers they will license.

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. The results were significantly better than those for Merck & Co's rival antiviral pill molnupiravir in its clinical trial.

Pfizer won’t receive royalties from sales covered by the pact as long as Covid remains classified as an international public-health emergency by the World Health Organization, according to the patent pool.

After the pandemic, middle-income nations will be subject to a 5% royalty for sales to the public sector and 10% for sales to the private sector. There will be no royalty payment for low-income countries.