Kenya signs deal with Pfizer to cut cancer drug prices by more than seven times

Kenya has signed an agreement with Pfizer under its Accord for a Healthier World initiative to reduce the prices of medicines for several cancers by more than seven times. Announced by President William Ruto, the deal with the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority will lower some treatment cycle costs from Sh1 million to under Sh50,000. This reduction will allow the Social Health Authority's Sh800,000 cancer package to fully cover treatments, while Pfizer will also share technologies to support local manufacturing in Africa.

Pfizer-Kenya cancer drug deal

• ▪The Kenyan government signed an agreement with Pfizer on or before September 1, 2026, to supply cancer medicines at significantly lower prices.
• ▪The agreement between Pfizer and the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) was signed under Pfizer's Accord for a Healthier World initiative.
• ▪Kenyan President William Ruto announced the Pfizer agreement after receiving Pfizer chairman and chief executive officer Albert Bourla at State House in Nairobi.

Cancer medicine price reduction

• ▪The Pfizer agreement is expected to address delays in access to newer cancer medicines, allowing Kenyan patients to access newer treatments without the current 10-year wait.
• ▪Kenyan President William Ruto stated that the Pfizer agreement would reduce the cost of a single cancer treatment cycle from as much as Sh1 million to below Sh50,000 in some cases.
• ▪The agreement between Pfizer and Kenya will reduce the prices of medicines for breast, stomach, colon, lung, prostate, and oesophageal cancers, as well as leukaemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, by more than seven times.

SHA cancer treatment package

• ▪The Pfizer agreement will make the Sh800,000 cancer package under Kenya's Social Health Authority (SHA) sufficient to cover treatment without patients having to pay additional out-of-pocket costs.
• ▪The Kenyan government is seeking to expand access to specialised healthcare through the Social Health Authority (SHA) and reduce out-of-pocket patient costs.

Local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity

• ▪Under the agreement, Pfizer will make technologies and newer medicines available for local pharmaceutical production in Africa.
• ▪Kenyan President William Ruto, serving as the African Union Champion for Local Manufacturing of Medical Commodities, stated that the Pfizer deal supports efforts to build Africa's local medicine manufacturing capacity and reduce import reliance.

Cancer treatment financial burden

• ▪Cancer remains a major health and financial challenge in Kenya, where the cost of medicines, diagnostics, and repeated treatment cycles often puts care beyond the reach of many households.
• ▪Kenyan President William Ruto described Pfizer's involvement as a significant contribution to Kenya's health reforms and Universal Health Coverage programme to prevent patients from facing financial hardship.

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