As the coronavirus surged around the globe, Pfizer was among the vaccine makers who had to fend off criticism for protecting the technology behind its COVID-19 shots. Upon the development of its COVID-19 oral antiviral Paxlovid, however, the Big Pharma was quick to say that it was open to sharing.

Pfizer’s initiative is a step closer to bearing dividends, with news from the United-Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) that 35 companies have signed on to produce a generic version of the treatment, which is for those with a mild to moderate COVID-19. The active ingredient in Paxlovid is known as nirmatrelvir.

Of the 35 companies, six will produce ingredients for the pill, nine will manufacture the finished product and the remaining 20 will do both. The manufacturers span 12 countries from Asia to the Middle East to Eastern Europe and the Caribbean, making the drug available to 95 low- and middle-income countries and covering more than half the world’s population, the MPP said.

“They have been at the back of the queue for vaccines, so having a treatment like this in the armory will be absolutely critical to saving lives,” Charles Gore, the MPP’s executive director, said.

Last November, before the FDA approved Paxlovid, Pfizer struck a sub-licensing deal with the MPP. The agreement came three weeks after Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics made a similar arrangement with the MPP for their oral antiviral molnupiravir.