Emma Farge and Michael Erman

(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc (NYSE:), said Tuesday that generic manufacturers will be able to provide its experimental antivaral COVID-19 drug to 95 countries with a licensing agreement through Medicines Patent Pool, an international group specializing in public health.

Pfizer and MPP have reached a voluntary licensing agreement that will enable the UN-backed group to give sub-licenses to generic drug makers to create their own versions. The brand Paxlovid will be used by Pfizer to sell the manufactured pills.

Pfizer is also the manufacturer of COVID-19, which is the most widely-used vaccine. In a clinical study, Pfizer claimed the pill decreased the likelihood of dying or being hospitalized for those at highest risk. It will be administered in combination with ritonavir – an HIV drug already on the market generically.

Pfizer’s licensing deal follows a similar arrangement by rival Merck & Co for generic manufacturing of its COVID-19 treatment. This unusual arrangement acknowledges the need for highly effective treatment and the enormous pressure on drugmakers to keep their lifesaving drugs affordable.

Charles Gore (Executive Director, Medicines Patent Pool) stated in an interview that “we are very pleased to have another tool in our arsenal to protect people against the ravages COVID-19.”

Gore stated that he hopes the generic version Pfizer’s drug is available in the next few months.

These 95 countries make up 53% of the global population. They include low-, middle-, and upper-middle-income sub-Saharan African countries. According to Pfizer, the MPP also includes countries that changed from lower-middle status to higher-middle in recent years.

“We believe oral antiviral treatments can play a vital role in reducing the severity of COVID-19 infections… We must work to ensure that all people – regardless of where they live or their circumstances – have access to these breakthroughs,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in a statement.

Pfizer will pay no royalties for sales made in countries with low income. The royalties will also be exempted from the agreements in other countries, provided that COVID-19 does not become a public health emergency or international concern according to the World Health Organization.

The drug’s Pfizer version will be highly sought after. According to Pfizer, it plans on producing 180,000 treatments by next month as well as at least 50,000,000 courses by 2022.

But the drugmaker might still be unable to meet the demands of 47% population. Last week, a Pfizer executive stated that the global market for the drug could reach 150 million and that other countries may be interested in purchasing doses to supplement their strategic reserves.

Pfizer said that the company will market the supplies it makes using a tiered pricing system based upon the country’s income. It expects the price of its treatment in the United States to be similar to Merck’s drug, which is around $700 per course.

Merck licenses the COVID-19 pill (molnupiravir) in more than 100 countries. Some international officials have said that even this license agreement is insufficient to allow the medication to be distributed in sufficient numbers in low and middle income countries.