‘An Accord for a Healthier World’

In May 2022 at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Pfizer launched ‘An Accord for a Healthier World’ to provide access to all of our patented medicines and vaccines available in the U.S. or European Union on a not-for-profit basis to 45 lower-income countries around the world. In addition, we began working with health officials in Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda to identify early insights and opportunities to help address system-level barriers that limit or prevent medicines from reaching those in need.

Children in low-income countries are 10 times less likely to reach their fifth birthday compared to those in high-income countries.⁴ Under the Accord, and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer is advancing the development of vaccine candidates for the prevention of Group B Streptococcus (GBS)—a leading cause of stillbirth and newborn mortality in low-income countries. Pfizer is also exploring opportunities to support other maternal vaccines, including Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine development.

“If successful and approved or licensed, Pfizer’s vaccine candidates against GBS and RSV could have a profound impact on the health of young infants at a time when they are most vulnerable against these potentially devastating infections, particularly in lower-income countries where prevalence is higher,” said Annaliesa Anderson, Ph.D., senior vice president and chief scientific officer, vaccine research and development, Pfizer. “As part of ‘An Accord for a Healthier World’, focused on establishing access to our medicines and vaccines on a not-for-profit basis, the support for the vaccine candidates from the Gates Foundation will enable faster and more equitable deployment of the vaccines to these regions.”

Rwanda was the first country to receive a delivery of Pfizer patent-protected medicines and vaccines through the Accord, which included nine medicines and vaccines to help treat or prevent life-threatening infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases and certain cancers.

“In partnership with Pfizer and ‘An Accord for a Healthier World,’, we are proud to provide rapid and affordable access to these Pfizer medicines and vaccines, which have the power to save and improve patient lives all across Rwanda,” said The Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Ngamije.

Together, the Rwandan Ministry of Health and Pfizer are working to provide professional healthcare education and training to support Rwandan medical specialists and in November 2022, Pfizer deployed its first Global Health Team to the country to help identify opportunities for long-term supply chain optimization.

During the 77^th Session of the UN General Assembly, Pfizer hosted a convening with more than 100 global health, development and finance leaders from around the world to discuss how we can collaborate to strengthen health systems and create innovative health financing.

In December 2022, Pfizer attended the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, hosted by The White House, to meet with African leaders and discuss ways to improve access to innovative healthcare solutions on the continent and beyond. During the Summit, Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, spoke to attendees about the Accord’s progress. Watch his remarks above.

We continue to collaborate with country governments and global health organizations to help close the health equity gap.

In January 2023 at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, we announced the expansion of the Accord to help enable access to the full portfolio for which Pfizer holds global rights – both patented and off-patent medicines and vaccines - to all 45 Accord-eligible countries on a not-for-profit basis to better align with disease burden and unmet patient needs in these countries.