Pfizer’s Covid Pill Unlikely to Reach Much of World for a Year

Agreements to expand global access to Pfizer Inc.’s highly effective Covid-19 therapy will be announced shortly, yet parts of the world may wait a year for the drug due to production and regulatory hurdles.

The United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool plans to name the generic drugmakers that are going to be making the pills next week, four months after reaching a licensing accord with Pfizer. The drug companies may be ready to supply the first Paxlovid pills by December, according to the Geneva-based group. Larger quantities may only reach the market in May 2023, analytics firm Airfinity Ltd. estimates. ...