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In the global race for effective and well-tolerated vaccines against coronavirus, nine pharmaceutical companies have issued a joint statement. Donald Trump shouldn’t like this.
In light of mounting political debate over the early availability of a corona vaccine, nine competing pharmaceutical and biotech companies have vowed not to compromise on the development and approval of the vaccine. Approval of a vaccine will only be requested when tolerability and efficacy have been demonstrated in a rigorous phase three clinical study, the CEOs of the nine companies said Tuesday. This applies to both regular approval and a possible emergency permit, he said.
The developers will continue to adhere to the necessary high scientific and ethical standards, they said. The joint communication aims to “ensure the public’s confidence in the rigorous scientific and regulatory process by which Covid-19 vaccines can be tested and ultimately approved,” the company’s heads said. The companies involved were Astrazeneca, Biontech, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer and Sanofi.
Trump promises a quick vaccine
In the United States in particular, approval of a vaccine has recently become an increasingly political issue. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, promises almost daily that there will be a vaccine by the end of the year or possibly by the elections on November 3. For Republican Trump, who is running for a second term and widely criticized for his handling of the corona pandemic, the availability of a vaccine would be a huge success by then. Democrats and some health professionals fear that Trump may pressure the appropriate Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue an emergency license.
If a vaccine were not accepted by a large section of the public due to feared political influence, this could make it much more difficult to contain the pandemic in the long term.
American virologist expects funding for next year
Currently, there are several experimental vaccines in large clinical trials around the world. In the US, phase three studies typically include about 30,000 subjects. The objective is to verify the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. Renowned American experts had recently stated that by the end of the year it might be clear whether one of the tested vaccines was effective enough.
Immunologist Anthony Fauci, for example, who also advises the White House, expects a vaccine to be available early next year. This could get emergency approval from the FDA, especially since a regular approval is likely to take much longer.
