Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said therapeutic drugs to treat the coronavirus could reduce the death rate substantially this year, but a vaccine will be crucial in restoring a sense of normalcy to society.
“You can see the therapeutic benefit faster than the protective benefit,” Gates said in an interview that aired Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”. “So I think there is a good chance that we will have a substantial reduction in the death rate by the end of the year with the combination of those new tools.”
The co-founder and co-chair of the Microsoft Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said that remdesivir was one of the leading treatments in therapeutic research. Remdesivir is an antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences that has been shown to reduce the risk of death of seriously ill Covid-19 patients by 62% compared to standard care alone.
Gates said there are two other antivirals that scientists are studying, which can be administered orally instead of injecting an intravenous line like treatment with remdesivir.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced plans in February to donate $ 100 million to vaccine research and treatment efforts for the coronavirus as part of the World Health Organization’s request for $ 675 million in contributions to combat the spread of the virus. In June, the foundation promised an additional $ 1.6 billion to the Gavi vaccine alliance, an organization focused on efforts to immunize children in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would also say that monoclonal antibodies are probably the most promising class … There are people like Regeneron, Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca doing quite a strong job,” Gates told Andrew Ross Sorkin in Monday’s interview.
Although these new therapies will significantly help coronavirus patients suffering from severe symptoms, he said it will not “take us back to normal.”
“Until you really block the transmission, have long periods of time without anyone going to the hospital, the concern will be there,” he said.
Several pharmaceutical companies have been testing their potential vaccines in clinical trials, with some entering advanced-stage human trials in a race to get regulatory approval before the end of 2020.
US pharmacist Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech announced Monday that they have just started their advanced-stage human trial. Earlier this month, they said that one of their four vaccine candidates produced neutralizing antibodies, which researchers believe is necessary to develop immunity to the virus, in all participants who received two of the 10 or 30 microgram doses.
Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech received $ 1.95 billion in funding from the US government to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their vaccine if it is safe and effective.
Moderna, another leading pharmaceutical company in the race to develop a vaccine, also announced Monday that it received additional funding of $ 472 million from the government. The company previously received $ 483 million from the federal agency in April.
Gates said Tuesday that he is “excited about all the vaccines the United States has funded.”
“We live every day with our vaccine experts who talk to these companies because the way we put the world’s resources behind them is not only driven by a normal market thing. This is cooperation to discover within a country and in all the countries where this vaccine should go, “he said.
The billionaire also emphasized the importance of persuading the public to take the vaccine when it becomes available. He said health officials should send clear messages that the FDA is “not cutting corners” and following its professional safety process.
“Well, it’s critical that people don’t think we’re in a rush,” he said. Gates admitted that he is “concerned” but not surprised that people are concerned about the efficacy and safety of the first coronavirus vaccine.
“Hopefully they see the facts, understand the values of the people they are thinking about and understand that we are in this together and that we need to protect each other with masks and, eventually, collective immunity with a vaccine,” he said.
Correction: Summaries in an earlier version were incorrectly expressed when the interview was conducted. It took place on Monday and aired on Tuesday.
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