President Kagame and Pfizer CEO discuss progress on sharing pharmaceutical patents

RWANDA —President Paul Kagame and Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies have met to explore ways of fortifying their partnership in sharing Pfizer’s pharmaceutical patents with developing nations.

This high-stakes dialogue unfolded on September 18, coinciding with President Kagame’s official visit to New York, where he participated in the UN’s Digital Day and the 78th session of the UN General Assembly’s General Debate.

The talks revolved around Pfizer’s transformative “Accord for a Healthier World” initiative, which holds the power to reduce health inequities and surmount the formidable challenges of healthcare accessibility.

President Kagame’s Office encapsulated the essence of the discussions, stating, “They discussed the importance of Pfizer’s Accord for a Healthier World initiative towards reducing health inequities and addressing challenges of access to health care.”

At its core, the initiative, unveiled in May 2022, signals a watershed moment. Rwanda became the inaugural nation to receive a delivery of patent-protected pharmaceutical marvels, spanning oncology, infectious diseases, inflammatory conditions, and rare ailments.

This steadfast commitment extends its protective wings over all future Pfizer medicines and vaccines, regardless of their discovery or launch date.

Joining Rwanda in this pioneering journey are other African nations, including Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, and Uganda.

Pfizer’s ambitious plan encompasses 23 wholly-owned patented medicines and vaccines, strategically designed to combat infectious diseases, specific cancers, and rare and inflammatory conditions.

Among these remarkable innovations are Paxlovid and Ibrance, alongside high-demand pneumonia vaccine Prevnar 13, the rheumatoid arthritis breakthrough Xeljanz, and the life-changing cancer treatments Xalkori and Inlyta.

The implications of making these groundbreaking medicines and vaccines more widely accessible are nothing short of extraordinary.

They have the potential to transform the lives of nearly one million individuals each year in these nations, curbing both non-communicable and infectious diseases. Additionally, they offer hope to half a million others whose quality of life is marred by chronic diseases.

Yet, the backdrop to this visionary partnership is a stark reality—the glaring health equity gap that dictates who can access pioneering innovations and who cannot.

In response, Rwanda and fellow African nations have embarked on a remarkable journey to curtail Africa’s over-reliance on developed countries for pharmaceuticals.

Central to this endeavor is the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation (APTF), a driving force behind technology innovation in the health sector.

Moreover, the African Medicine Agency (AMA) stands as a specialized agency poised to harmonize medical product regulation across the continent, thereby enhancing access to high-quality, safe, and efficacious medical products.

The vision to enhance Africa’s self-reliance in healthcare extends even further with the construction of BioNTech vaccine manufacturing plants in Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa.

These cutting-edge facilities are set to pioneer scalable mRNA vaccine production on the African continent, a significant step towards vaccine sovereignty.

In a parallel development, Rwanda has initiated the implementation of an agreement with Pfizer that holds monumental significance.

The agreement, originating in Davos, spans the distribution of medicines for Covid-19 treatment, therapeutics, cancer medications, remedies for skin conditions, and a host of other Pfizer-manufactured pharmaceuticals.

This agreement, inked between Pfizer and a coalition of 42 countries, sets the stage for providing all Pfizer medicines and vaccines on a not-for-profit basis.

An integral facet of this partnership includes training healthcare professionals from the signatory countries worldwide.

Rwanda stands at the forefront of this transformative movement, being the first among the initial five countries to set the wheels of implementation in motion.

Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the Minister of Health, elucidated the importance of this training initiative, underlining that it marks the inaugural stride in realizing the agreement’s objectives. Rwanda has already welcomed its initial consignment of medicines.

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