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Sanofi CEO Mr. Paul Hudson – Photo: AFP
In an interview with Bloomberg News on May 14, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said that if the group successfully develops the COVID-19 vaccine, the United States will be the first country in the world. to receive.
“The United States government has the right to reserve the most vaccines because it dared venture capitalists. It will all happen the same way because they dared to spend money to protect people and restart the economy.” “Hudson’s statement made French politicians feel” pat “.
Sanofi becomes a target for shooting
French Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Agnes Pannier-Runacher fired the first criticism declaring the first “privileged” access to a vaccine for a country because it invested a lot of money in “no”. acceptable, especially in the current context. ”
France’s minister of education, research and innovation, Frederique Vidal, criticized Sanofi’s priority plan in the United States as “incomprehensible and shameful” because a successful vaccine must provide mutual benefits. humanity.
UK-based charity Oxfam also added fuel to the fire, stressing that pharmaceutical companies have no right to decide “who lives and who dies.”
French Health Minister Olivier Veran was more peaceful when he spoke to the Sanofi chief and was reassured by what Mr. Hudson had said.
“I thought it was a pretty awkward phrase and I went out of context,” Veran told the radio. News C.
Writing on his personal Twitter, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe emphasized that the COVID-19 vaccine must benefit the world and that equitable access to the vaccine “is something you cannot haggle over.”
In the words of Philippe, from the point of view of the French Prime Minister, the president of the Sanofi Group has promised to guarantee the supply of vaccines for the country.
A Sanofi research center in Vitry-sur-Seine, France – Photo: REUTERS
Encourage the Sanofi generals?
The French pharmaceutical firm appears to have mobilized the general’s encouragement to allow the European Union (EU) to fund a new and successful initial vaccine project.
After a round of criticism and phone calls complaining about French officials, Sanofi quickly voiced his judgment on May 14.
“If Sanofi makes a breakthrough in the COVID-19 vaccine and it works, it will be available to everyone,” Olivier Bogillot, head of the Sanofi office in France, told radio. BFM TV.
Bogillot emphasized that Sanofi’s goal is to provide vaccines to the United States, France, and Europe at the same time, but on the condition that “Europeans must work as hard as Americans,” implying Washington’s commitment to funding. . for Sanofi “several hundred million euros”, while the EU has made no move.
According to the AFP news agency, Sanofi currently has two vaccine manufacturing projects, including one that is working with rival GlaxoSmithKline and that receives funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services. USA The other project is in cooperation with the American company Translate Bio and uses other research technology. These are two of the dozens of COVID-19 vaccine research projects in the world.
While France and Germany are trying to raise $ 8 billion to distribute vaccines fairly to countries, Hudson’s statement makes the EU realize that they are slow to invest money in vaccine manufacturing studies compared to America.
The administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has evaded international joint vaccine development efforts and aims to achieve 100 million doses of vaccines by the end of this year after investing hundreds of millions of dollars in private pharmaceutical companies. . Photo: REUTERS
In a statement issued the night of May 14, an official at the Elysee Palace in France said that President Emmanuel Macron was disappointed by Sanofi’s behavior. However, he also said there would be a meeting between the pharmaceutical company’s leadership and government officials on the matter.
At this point, the director of the new Hudson storm said he was sorry to say that “the COVID-19 vaccine produced in the United States can be delivered first to the United States.”
While they recognized the mistake, the Sanofi leadership did not forget to remember if the EU wanted a new COVID-19 vaccine, the bloc needed more collective action and that Sanofi had urged the EU for that for several months.
In March, only after President Donald Trump spoke of the United States spending $ 1 billion to buy the exclusive COVID-19 vaccine from a German company, the EU only considered financial support for this company. keep the vaccine in Europe.
