Pfizer said that the agreement is the final step in the AMC procurement process which is administered by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and supported by Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). The agreement is subject to prequalification by the WHO and AMC eligibility designation, which are both expected later this year.
As per the terms of the agreement, the price of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine under the AMC framework is $7 for the first several years. The vaccine price is expected to include a $3.50 subsidy to be paid by the AMC donor fund, and $3.50 to be paid by GAVI with a co-financing contribution paid by the developing country governments that introduce the vaccine.
Jeffrey Kindler, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, said: “Pfizer is dedicated to broadening access around the world to our medicines, and public-private partnerships such as the one involving the AMC are critical to achieving true inroads on this front.
“Last year, working with GAVI, we contributed the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine used in a national immunization program in the developing world, and we are proud to extend our commitment even further to young children in the world’s poorest countries by participating in the AMC.”
Orin Levine, executive director of international vaccine access center at Johns Hopkins University, said: “I applaud the groundbreaking milestone achieved today by vaccine manufacturers, developing country governments, donors, the World Bank, and the GAVI Alliance that has made the most advanced pneumococcal conjugate vaccines available to the world’s neediest young children at affordable prices and faster than ever before. This year, the Advance Market Commitment will begin helping to save lives and improve the health of infants and young children in Africa.”