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PARIS: Sanofi Chief Executive Paul Hudson said Thursday (May 14) that it was vital that any coronavirus vaccine reach all parts of the world, after infuriating the French government by saying some countries would gain priority access.
But the CEO of the French pharmaceutical giant stood firm in the need for a faster, more collaborative European effort in the search for a vaccine against the new coronavirus that has killed more than 298,000 worldwide and has paralyzed economies across the globe. the world.
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Hudson told Bloomberg on Wednesday that the doses of vaccine produced in the United States could first reach American patients, given that the country had financially supported the research.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had said there should be no favorites at launching an eventual vaccine. Equal access was not negotiable, he said.
READ: French fury after Sanofi says America will receive COVID-19 vaccine first
Hudson said Thursday that it was vital that any coronavirus vaccine reach all regions and regretted that his previous comments had created such a storm.
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“I have been campaigning in European readiness to deal with COVID-19 for months, building capacity in Europe, making sure we are ready, aligning EU governments,” Hudson said at an event organized by the Financial Times.
Sanofi, who has called for greater European coordination in the search for a vaccine and has the financial support of the United States, clarified that any such vaccine would be available to everyone.
There is no known vaccine or treatment for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. Drug makers are competing to develop what would be a lucrative prize, but have sought financial support to mitigate the risks.
Sanofi is working on two COVID-19 vaccine projects. One is with British rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc which received financial support from the US Department of Health’s Advanced Biomedical Research and Development Authority (BARDA). USA, and the other with the American company Translate Bio that will use a different technology.
‘NON-NEGOTIABLE’
Given BARDA’s support, doses produced by Sanofi in the United States are expected to reach US patients first, a prospect that has sparked concern in Europe.
“A COVID-19 vaccine should be a public good for the world. Everyone’s equitable access to the virus is not negotiable,” Philippe said Thursday.
Philippe said he had reinforced this message to Sanofi President Serge Weinberg, who in return had assured the Prime Minister of the distribution in France of any Sanofi vaccine.
Hudson’s initial comments upset President Emmanuel Macron, an Elysee Palace official said. A presidential official will meet with representatives of Sanofi next week, the official added.
Sanofi has 18 production sites in France.
Hudson said that Europe lacked a body similar to BARDA.
“That model does not exist in Europe,” he said, despite government support to establish one.
The controversy has raised questions about whether Europe has been too slow to respond in terms of organizing and funding vaccine research. Sanofi reiterated on Thursday that the United States had moved faster in this regard.
The charity Oxfam said that pharmaceutical companies should not be able to decide “who lives and who dies.”
Officials meeting at the World Health Assembly next week should demand that vaccines and tests be patent-free, Oxfam said in a statement. They should also be equally distributed to all countries.
“Governments must work together to prevent corporations from benefiting from the pandemic and save the lives of people around the world,” said Oxfam.
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