The pharmaceutical industry wants to regain vaccine production in Norway after the crown – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

– We must guarantee that there is security in the population so that we have access to important medicines, says Karita Bekkemellem in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Right now, a run is underway in various labs around the world. The vast majority of drug manufacturers are trying to create a vaccine that can stop the spread of the coronavirus.

What was once a great environment for vaccine development and production in Norway no longer exists. In 2011, the Storting decided to shut down vaccine production under state auspices.

northadvocate for the Pharmaceutical Industry association to establish a vaccine factory in Norway.

– We must have it to ensure good public health in the future. Norway has fantastic opportunities thanks to our experience. With this, we can create more growth and jobs, and at the same time take responsibility for our global society, says Karita Bekkemellem, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

They have brought with them various actors, such as LO, NHO and KLP, to request funds to start a blueprint. In the first instance, they want the Storting to reserve 20 million.

If the Storting is part of the team, the next step will be for Sintef to join several relevant university settings to see if there is realism behind the proposal. The industry hopes that the Norwegian vaccine production can be a state and private collaboration.

– More and more vaccine

– We envisage a modular factory that can change production adapting to the needs that may arise. Right now we are in a crisis situation in which everyone sees that we will have a huge production of vaccines in the future. But then we also see that medical development is going in that direction. That there will be more and more vaccines, says Bekkemellem.

Meet one of his like-minded people outside the NHO building at Majorstuen in Oslo. Ole Erik Almlid, CEO of the employers’ organization NHO, welcomes the initiative

– What we can achieve now is to ensure the creation of new skilled jobs and preparation in Norway. And furthermore, we must do our best to establish export industries. And this is a typical export industry, he says, adding that both public and private players need to cooperate on this, Almlid believes.

Fear that too much is needed

There was a lot of debate in the health communities around the closure of the state production of vaccines in Norway until the decision in 2011.

– We probably lost some autonomy (independence), we probably did. And in relation to emergency preparedness thinking, it may be appropriate to think that parts of drug or vaccine development may take place in Norway, says Geir Bukholm, director of infection control at the National Institute of Public Health.

But this is an industry that requires a huge investment, he adds.

Currently, Bukholm is instrumental in the work of implementing plans for the purchase and distribution of the coronary vaccine when it arrives in the country.

But he is clear that it is not just about establishing a vaccine factory in Norway and believing that it will be viable without further ado.

– I think it will be demanding to achieve something like this in Norway. With the coronary vaccine, we have seen that it is important to have large companies and many resources. As long as you can’t get that big of an investment, it will probably be of limited value to set up small businesses in Norway, Bukholm says.

Will analyze the possibility

Health Minister Bent Høye is optimistic about the industry initiative. He notes that Norway has already been a major driver in the vaccine race, but believes that Norwegian vaccine production in the future will have something to offer.

– I think it is very positive that the industry is addressing this. It would be very good for Norway if the industry wants to establish production in this country. We are happy to see the possibility of a public-private partnership on this, says the minister who has been the closest politician to the corona pandemic since the virus was discovered.

But that Norway should have had the opportunity to produce coronary vaccines now, the Minister of Health is more uncertain.

– Exactly in the situation in which we find ourselves now, I have a little doubt if he had something to say. Precisely because we see that it is the international mechanisms that have historically managed to scale rapidly. But you don’t know what will happen in the future. In any case, it will be a smaller part of the solution and not the solution itself, Høie says.