Two Billion Doses by the End of 2022: Pfizer’s Commitment to Equitable Access

Pfizer and BioNTech developed their COVID-19 vaccine in just nine months,^[1] an unprecedented pace of development made possible by breakthroughs in mRNA technology. But the vaccine can’ help protect against the virus if it doesn’t find its way into people’s arms.

To truly enter a post-pandemic world, scientists estimate that up to 70 percent of the global population will need to develop immunity, either through vaccination or by recovering from infection.^[2] That underscores Pfizer’s drive to pursue an equitable access strategy for COVID-19 vaccines.

Pfizer has manufactured 3 billion doses in 2021 and plans to manufacture up to 4 billion doses in 2022 worldwide. The company has pledged to provide 2 billion doses to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) during that period – 1 billion in 2021 and 1 billion in 2022. That figure includes 1 billion doses, which are being provided to the U.S. at a not-for-profit price, that will go to the government’s vaccine donation program for 92 LMICs and the 55 member states of the African Union. Pfizer will provide another 1 billion doses to LMICS by the end of 2022, priced according to each country’s ability to pay.^[3]

Expanding Access: A Core Principle

Pfizer has made equitable access to medicines and vaccines a pillar of its strategy.

In January 2021, the company completed a decade-long transformation into a lean organization it calls the New Pfizer, which focuses on developing breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. A central part of this evolution involves giving the company a clearly defined purpose, said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s Chairman and CEO.

The company enshrines this idea in its Purpose Blueprint, a roadmap that incorporates  environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals at the heart of its business model.^[4] This new vision means that Pfizer aligns business decisions with the drive to expand access to breakthrough medicines and vaccines and develop equitable pricing strategies to reach patients who might otherwise be unable to afford healthcare. It’s the right thing to do, Bourla said during a June 2021 CEO Investor Forum,^[5] for people’s lives and because it makes good business sense.

“Embedding [ESG] into our corporate strategy is critical to the New Pfizer’s prospects for long-term growth and our ability to deliver on our purpose: breakthroughs that change patients’ lives,” Bourla said.

As part of this strategy, the company is increasingly developing access and affordability plans before a therapy makes it to market.

To make this goal a reality, the company launched an internal Global Health Committee to provide oversight and strategic guidance. And the company is measuring its impact by monitoring the number of patients it is reaching through access and affordability programs.

Recognition for Results

These efforts to bring medicine to more people haven’t gone unnoticed. Pfizer jumped from eleventh to fourth place among major pharmaceutical companies in the Access to Medicine Foundation’s (ATMF) most recent Access to Medicine Index, which tracks how companies are improving access to medicine for the poor.^[6]

The foundation intends its index to drive change in the pharmaceutical industry by measuring how the largest companies address access in 106 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for 82 diseases, conditions, and pathogens.

In the 2021 ranking, the foundation said Pfizer performs strongly in R&D-stage planning, strategies and capacity building for broader access. It mentions Pfizer’s decisions to include its access strategy in its Purpose Blueprint.^[7] It also commends the role of the board in providing appropriate oversight of the company’s access decisions and for incentivizing executives to perform on access issues.

“This recognition inspires and motivates us to stay laser-focused on both developing medical breakthroughs and helping ensure that they are accessible to the greatest number possible of patients around the world,” said Pfizer’s Bourla.

[1] Pfizer. Shot of a Lifetime: How Pfizer and BioNTech Developed and Manufactured a COVID Vaccine in Record Time. Available here.
[2] Nature. Five Reasons Why COVID Herd Immunity Is Probably Impossible. Available here.
[3] Pfizer and BioNTech Expand Collaboration with U.S. to Provide 500 Million Additional COVID-19 Vaccine Doses at Not-for-Profit Price for Donation to Poorest Countries | Pfizer. Available here.
[4] Pfizer. Why Invest – Our Story. Available here.
[5] Pfizer. Long Term Plan Presentation. Available here.
[6] Access to Medicine Index. 2021 Rankings. Available here.
[7] Access to Medicine Index. Report Card: Pfizer Inc. Available here.