Pfizer halts Russian clinical trials

Pfizer on Monday said it will donate all the profits from its Russian subsidiary to programs that provide direct humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine.

Medicines are excluded from the international sanctions placed on Russia for humanitarian reasons, and health companies have said they have an ethical duty to keep their supply chains open and continue supplying the Russian people with needed drugs and medical devices.

“A voluntary pause in the flow of our medicines to Russia would be in direct violation of our foundational principle of putting patients first,” Pfizer said. “Ending delivery of medicines, including cancer or cardiovascular therapies, would cause significant patient suffering and potential loss of life, particularly among children and elderly people.”

Additionally, Pfizer said it would no longer initiate new clinical trials in Russia, and will stop recruiting new patients in its ongoing clinical trials there. But the company said it will continue providing medicines to the patients already enrolled in clinical trials.