Collaboration Helps Broaden Access to Pfizer’s Contraceptive, Sayana® Press (medroxyprogesterone acetate),
for Women in Some of the World’s Poorest Countries
Pfizer Inc., the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation reduce
the price of the injectable contraceptive
Pfizer Inc., the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) today announced a
multi-year extension of their collaboration to further broaden access to Pfizer’s all-in-one injectable contraceptive, Sayana®
Press (medroxyprogesterone acetate), for women most in need in some of the world’s poorest countries. Sayana Press will now be
available to qualified purchasers at a guaranteed price of US $0.85 per dose, a reduction from the previous price of US $1.00 per
dose.
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A consortium of organizations from the public and private sector first collaborated in 2014 to assess demand for Sayana Press.
Initial pilots conducted in Niger, Senegal and Uganda demonstrated strong demand for Sayana Press among younger women: up to 34
percent of doses administered across these three countries were to women between the ages of 20 and 24. Sayana Press is also
attracting women who have never before used contraceptives, with 24- 42% of doses given across the pilots received by new users of
family planning1.
By working together to expand the range of contraceptive options available, more women in more countries have had access to
Sayana Press every year. By the end of 2016, 6.4 million units of Sayana Press were shipped to 20 developing world countries,
potentially reaching more than 1.5 million women – up from 350,000 women at the end of 20142. Pfizer is continuing to
make investments in its manufacturing facilities to meet the expected increase in market demand.
“Our hope is that more women in the developing world will now have access to Sayana Press, as an option, to meet their specific
family planning needs,” said John Young, President, Pfizer Essential Health. “We have seen the impact of our work with the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and other collaborating organizations, and look forward
to our continued efforts to enable wider availability of Sayana Press. By improving access to contraceptive options, we can help
empower women most in need to better plan their families.”
Sayana Press combines a longer-acting, reversible contraceptive with the BD Uniject™ injection system developed by BD (Becton,
Dickinson & Company). This all-in-one prefilled, single-use, auto-disable system eliminates the need to prepare a needle and
syringe. It also allows the contraceptive to be administered by a health worker outside of a clinical setting, or it can be
self-injected if approved locally and after health care worker instruction.
“BD is honored to join Pfizer, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and CIFF in empowering women to manage such an important
aspect of their lives,” said Renuka Gadde, Vice President of Global Health for BD. “We commend their efforts to scale the program
so that women in all parts of the world can be offered the choice to plan and space their families.”
The unmet need for contraception remains high. An estimated 225 million women in developing countries would like to delay or
prevent pregnancy but are not using any method of contraception3. Common reasons for this include difficulty travelling
to health facilities, social barriers, and lack of knowledge around what contraceptive methods are available.4 Because
of its unique contraceptive delivery technology – enabling the product to be compact, discreet, and easily transportable – Sayana
Press can be provided in low-resource, non-clinic settings, potentially transforming the way in which women can access and receive
their preferred method of contraception.
Several global efforts are underway to expand voluntary family planning services and contraceptive options for women in
developing countries, so they are able to time and space their pregnancies. This commitment is a central focus of Family Planning
2020, a global partnership to ensure that by 2020, an additional 120 million women have the ability to access and voluntarily use a
method of modern contraception. According to the 2016 FP2020 progress report, for the first time, more than 300 million women are
using modern contraceptives across the 69 countries where progress is measured. As a result, an estimated 82 million unintended
pregnancies were prevented and 124,000 maternal deaths were averted between July 2015 and July 20165.
“Contraceptives are highly cost-effective health investments which save lives. If every girl and woman who wanted to use modern
contraception was able to, we could prevent 170,000 maternal deaths and around 1.6 million newborn deaths each year6.
The sub-cutaneous injectable contraceptive is an important innovation, which can reach new and younger users who often face high
barriers to accessing comprehensive choices. Increasing access and choice of affordable contraceptives are crucial parts of this
important collaboration,” said Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.
The consortium of public- and private-sector donors and aid organizations supporting this effort includes BD, the United
Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID). These organizations play an important role in ensuring that women in the world’s poorest
countries have access to a full range of contraceptive options. In addition to assisting with procurement, this consortium supports
country introductions and the delivery of a range of high quality modern contraceptive options, including subcutaneous injectable
contraceptives. At the country level, the organizations also work with local governments with the goal of including modern
contraceptives in reproductive health plans and budgets, coordinating health-worker trainings to improve quality counselling and
services, and raising awareness about the availability of a variety of modern contraceptive options.
“We know that when women have a range of contraceptive options to time and space their pregnancies, they’re more likely to find
one that suits their needs,” said Dr. Chris Elias, President of Global Development Programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. “New innovations in contraceptive technology are needed to expand the number of methods available to women and
adolescents so they can take charge of their health and their futures.”
About Sayana Press
Sayana Press combines a longer-acting, reversible, contraceptive with the all-in-one prefilled, single-use, auto-disposable BD
Uniject™ injection system that eliminates the need to prepare a needle and syringe. The contraceptive is indicated for the
prevention of pregnancy. Each subcutaneous injection prevents ovulation and provides contraception for at least 13 weeks (+/- one
week). The product can be stored without refrigeration. Sayana Press professional and patient information, including the risk of
bone mineral density loss and other warnings and precautions for use, including in adolescents, can be found here 7.
Sayana Press is approved by regulatory authorities in more than 40 countries across the European Union and in a number of FP2020
focus countries. These countries include Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda, as well as additional
markets in Latin America and within Asia Pacific. Additional regulatory submissions are being pursued. Sayana Press is not approved
or available for use in the United States.
Sayana Press is also approved for administration by self-injection in 17 countries in both the developed and developing
worlds.
About BD
BD is a global medical technology company that is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and
the delivery of care. BD leads in patient and health care worker safety and the technologies that enable medical research and
clinical laboratories. The company provides innovative solutions that help advance medical research and genomics, enhance the
diagnosis of infectious disease and cancer, improve medication management, promote infection prevention, equip surgical and
interventional procedures, and support the management of diabetes. The company partners with organizations around the world to
address some of the most challenging global health issues. BD has nearly 50,000 associates across 50 countries who work in close
collaboration with customers and partners to help enhance outcomes, lower health care delivery costs, increase efficiencies,
improve health care safety and expand access to health. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead
healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift
themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the
fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the
foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and
Warren Buffett.
Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
CIFF is the world’s largest philanthropy that focuses specifically on improving children’s lives. We know that the returns on
smart investments in areas such as children’s early development and adolescent girls are especially high. So we aim to play a
catalytic role as a funder and influencer to deliver urgent and lasting change at scale. Areas of work include improving
children and adolescents' health, nutrition, deworming, welfare and smart ways to slow down and stop climate change. More
information at ciff.org.
Pfizer Inc.: Working together for a healthier world ®
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their
lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care
products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care
products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and
cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier
innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and
expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference
for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @PfizerNews, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at
Facebook.com/Pfizer.
PFIZER DISCLOSURE NOTICE: The information contained in this release is as of May 8, 2017. Pfizer assumes no obligation
to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or
developments.
This release contains forward-looking information related to Sayana Press and its potential benefits that involves
substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development; whether
and when any applications for Sayana Press or label updates for Sayana Press may be filed with regulatory authorities in any other
jurisdictions; whether and when regulatory authorities may approve such applications and any other applications that are pending
for Sayana Press, which will depend on the assessment by such regulatory authorities of the benefit-risk profile suggested by the
totality of the efficacy and safety information submitted; decisions by regulatory authorities regarding labeling and other matters
that could affect the availability or commercial potential of Sayana Press; and competitive developments.
A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2016, including in the sections thereof captioned "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Information and Factors
That May Affect Future Results", as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com .
Pfizer:
Thomas Biegi, +1.212.733.2204
thomas.biegi@pfizer.com
or
Pfizer E.U. & Africa Media
Dervila Keane, +353.86.211.0834
dervila.keane@pfizer.com
or
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
media@gatesfoundation.org
or
Children’s Investment Fund Foundation:
press@ciff.org
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