Search Here

The cost of pneumonia drugs has urged Doctors Without Borders to protest against the pharmaceutical companies that hold the pneumonia vaccine patent rights. In order to show their disagreement, the representatives led a quiet march through midtown Manhattan and delivered a crib of flowers indicating the deaths per day caused by pneumonia.

About 2500 flowers in a crib were taken to Pfizer headquarters in Manhattan by a group of 70 people representing Doctors Without Borders. The flowers were intended to be understood as paying tribute to the coffins of 2500 children that die of pneumonia every day.

About 370,000 people from 170 countries had signed a petition for the vaccine patent holders Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC, to cut the cost of the vaccine specific for pneumonia from $10 to $5 per child. The crib inscribed of names of all the petitioners were handed to Pfizer representatives instead of the signed petition. The organizers also noted that tens of hundreds of people will sign the petition on Wednesday.

"It makes me sad when children die for reasons beyond our control, and it makes me angry when they die from diseases that are treatable or preventable," said Deane Marchbein, the president of the U.S. board of directors for Doctors Without Borders, according to Crain's New york.

Kate Elder, Doctors Without Borders' vaccines policy advisor said that a round of pneumonia vaccination costs $450 in the US. Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders spokesman Francois Servranckx said the reduction in price would save lives of many children around the world since one million pneumonia deaths are recorded every year. The health advocates also emphasized the importance of cost reduction in drugs delivered to countries that struggle economically.

"Pfizer understands the importance of making vaccines available to as many people as possible," the company said in a statement, as reported by US News. Prevenar 13 is one of the most complex biologics ever developed and it takes 2.5 years to make a single dose. We continue to help address humanitarian crises through donations of Prevenar 13 to humanitarian organizations and are in active discussions with additional humanitarian organizations to determine if more supply is needed," it said.