[ad_1]
To accelerate the development of coronavirus vaccines, the federal government wants to support three German pharmaceutical companies with millions. Institute director Paul Ehrlich was confident that approval could take place in 2021.
The federal government wants to financially support three German pharmaceutical companies in their search for a vaccine against the coronavirus. The Minister of Education, Anja Karliczek (CDU), announced that the negotiations with two companies had already concluded with a financing commitment.
As a result, the Mainz company BioNTech will receive funding of 375 million euros. The Tübingen company CureVac will receive 230 million euros for research on a vaccine. According to Karliczek, the Dessau-Roßlau-based company IDT Biologika will also receive funding. According to her, the negotiations are still ongoing.
Additional increase possible
According to the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn (CDU), BioNTech and CureVac have already received the funding notices. An increase is possible if necessary. Both ministries participated in the negotiations. The professional evaluation came from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which approves medications and is responsible for approving clinical studies.
Karliczek said the funding should help companies broaden their search for a vaccine and speed up testing of potential vaccines. According to her, the funding also includes clinical studies until the completion of the so-called phase 3. The multi-stage process is intended to contribute to the safety of vaccines, for example to reveal rare side effects.
“No risky abbreviations”
Spahn and Karliczek emphasized that vaccine safety was a top priority. “Even if the world is waiting for a vaccine, we will not take risky shortcuts,” Karliczek said. At the same time, the minister stressed that vaccines are “the decisive key to overcoming the pandemic.”
In the negotiations with the companies it also played a role that a possible vaccine could be made available to the population as needed. The president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Klaus Cichutek, said that the course of phase 3 is crucial for the approval of a vaccine. He is optimistic that a vaccine will be approved next year. Spahn and Karliczek also assume that later there will be a drug for a large part of the population.
Vaccinations must be voluntary
Health Minister Spahn stressed that no coronavirus vaccine should be introduced. “There will be a voluntary vaccination,” he said. To achieve herd immunity, 55 to 65 percent of citizens in Germany would have to be vaccinated. “We are very, very confident that we will voluntarily reach the goal of a sufficiently high vaccination rate.”
