There are several drugs by multiple manufacturers currently in clinical trials right now for this disease. It's not new research. They've been searching for drugs for this for literally decades.

That Pfizer is sponsoring is probably a corporate kickback/virtue signal to the powers that be. I'd believe that. They made boatloads of money and stand to make even more, but they had to sell their soul in terms of scientific integrity to do it. The falsified their test results and produced a manufactured safety and efficacy profile. Then they lied about post-marketing surveillance safety signals. They did it with the help of the FDA as well. If DoJ decided to look into that as racketeering and fraud, a lot of very wealthy people with fancy titles would be headed to prison cells. So, they're paying their dues and spreading around the wealth to everyone who might protect them. Back scratching is a pay-it-forward scheme in DC.

However, I don't think that Will Smith arranged to slap Chris Rock and destroy his career just for the sake of free conditioning on a drug for Pfizer that won't see the market for at least a year. That's nonsense. You'd do it the year you intend to have the product available.