Interview with pharmaceutical experts – “Lonza would have guaranteed the federal government a speedy delivery of vaccines”

Mr. Keller, was it absurd for Lonza Chairman Albert Baehny to ask the federal government for investment aid for vaccine production?

By no means does it appear to have been a simple case: Lonza was seeking capital to rapidly develop capabilities for Covid vaccine production at Visp and has turned to the state. Lonza herself has apparently invested, but was apparently looking for an additional investor. Switzerland had every reason to be interested in developing capacities in Valais.

The crucial question here is whether Lonza could have assured the federal government of prompt delivery of the vaccine.

I have no doubt that Lonza could have guaranteed Switzerland that the vaccine would be delivered quickly. That could have easily been regulated by contract. On the one hand, Switzerland is giving Lonza a certain amount of money to help build the plant; On the other hand, Lonza and Moderna agree that a certain amount of vaccine will be delivered mainly to Switzerland. Without this possibility, Mr. Baehny would hardly have approached the federal government.

Shouldn’t there have also been a contract between the federal government and Moderna?

No, this would not have required a direct contract between Switzerland and Moderna. A triangular arrangement would have been enough: Bund-Lonza, Lonza-Moderna.

Federal Councilor Alain Berset claimed that Switzerland would not have had any support from Lonza because the vaccine would have remained 100 percent in Lonza’s hands.

No, Lonza could have sold the vaccine directly to Switzerland in consultation with Moderna, even at a contractually agreed price. Moderna is the owner of the patent, but as a producer Lonza could still have contractually agreed with her that she could sell a certain number of cans.

Should the federal government have its own Swiss-only production line at Visp?

No, the production line would have been owned by Lonza. If Switzerland had invested, it could have been guaranteed a predetermined number of vaccination doses.

But Lonza only produces the active ingredient and not the finished vaccine.

Lonza or the federal government would have had to find other companies for final production. A problem that can be solved.

Marketing by a separate company is reported in the minutes of the meeting between the federal government and Lonza. What does that mean, would that have made the contract with the federal government difficult?

That would have been a possible complication, but it seemed fixable to me.

Are these investment contracts for the manufacture and marketing of drugs or vaccines in the pharmaceutical industry even known?

Undoubtedly, these contracts between two companies are made in the pharmaceutical industry.

So for you, Baehny’s proposal, which you apparently made to the federal government at the time, is it definitely valid?

Everyone I know in the pharmaceutical industry takes their hats off to the Lonza chairman and his offer to Switzerland at the time. I cannot speak for Roche, but if Mr. Baehny had approached Roche, he would have considered possible financing of production capacity realistic and contractually agreed with him that he would primarily deliver a certain amount of vaccination doses to Roche employees. This is a theoretical example, but from my point of view it would have been feasible.

And what do you think of the pact that didn’t go through with this?

The fact that Switzerland did not understand this and did not respond can only be attributed to the fact that the risk seemed too high, because at the time it was not clear whether the candidate vaccine would be successful.

Would you have invested in the new mRNA vaccine back then?

Yes, even when it comes to venture capital, of course. Of course, the federal government must be more cautious than the pharmaceutical industry, which constantly invests in risky research projects. But the federal government and Swiss companies paid a lot for the Swissair bailout at the time. Roche alone had given 100 million francs. Support for vaccine production can also be seen as an infrastructure measure. In my opinion, the federal government should have participated.

And now? Meanwhile, the Covid Law has been amended and also provides for state investment aid, could the federal government continue to participate in the development of additional production lines at Visp?

I do not think. Last spring it was not clear that the Moderna vaccine was safe and effective. At the time, Moderna was still looking for production capabilities and would have agreed to such a triangular deal with the federal government and Lonza. A short time later, that was probably no longer the case, and you could only order without a priority delivery guarantee.