Pfizer Inc. has signed a deal with a U.N.-backed group to allow other manufacturers to make its experimental COVID-19 pill.
The move could help make the treatment available to more than half of the world’s population.
In a statement on Tuesday, Pfizer said it would grant a license for the antiviral pill to the Medicines Patent Pool.
The agreement lets generic drug companies make the pill for use in 95 countries.
The deal excludes some large countries with manufacturing capacity. But health officials say the fact that the deal was struck before Pfizer’s pill has been authorized anywhere could help end the pandemic more quickly.
Earlier this month, Pfizer said its pill cut the risk of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in people with mild to moderate coronavirus infections. Independent experts recommended halting the company’s study based on its promising results.
Pfizer said it would ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators to authorize the pill as soon as possible,
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