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France said it was “unacceptable” for the French giant Sanofi to prioritize the US market once it developed a vaccine against Covid-19.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said countries’ equal access to vaccines was “non-negotiable.”
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Deputy Finance Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher had previously responded to comments from Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson, who said that “the United States government has the right to pre-order larger orders because they have invested at risk.” ro “.
Many laboratories around the world are engaged in research to find Covid-19 vaccines.
It usually takes a few years to develop a vaccine.
“It would be unacceptable for us to grant that country access to that drug for financial reasons,” Pannier-Runacher told radio. Sud Radio de France.
Earlier this month, the EU hosted an online global summit to promote research on the coronavirus, and made commitments to contribute $ 8 billion from 40 countries and Hospital Providers.
The funds are dedicated to the development of the coronavirus vaccine and the treatment of Covid-19 disease.
Britain hosted the summit, but the United States and Russia did not attend.
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The EU said Thursday that all countries should have equal access to vaccines.
International cooperation
Sanofi’s Covid-19 vaccine research activity is partially funded by the United States Agency for Advanced Biomedical Research and Development (Barda).
However, in recent years Sanofi has received tens of millions of euros from the French government in the form of tax subsidies to help with his investigation.
On Thursday, Sanofi’s chief financial officer, Olivier Bogillot, said, “The goal is to get vaccines for the United States, as well as for France and Europe at the same time.”
Speaking on the French news channel BFMTV, he said it would only be possible “if the Europeans worked as fast as the Americans,” adding that the United States government had pledged to “spend hundreds of millions.” euro”.
Last month, Sanofi partnered with British firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to work on a vaccine, but testing has not yet started.
Sanofi, who is in charge of vaccine research, John Shiver, said, “We are using the existing technology that was developed to treat the flu, and applying it to the new virus that causes Covid-19 Disease.”
Sanofi said that GSK “will contribute its auxiliary technology, a fuel component to complement and increase the immune response, reduce the amount of protein needed in each dose of vaccine and increase the effectiveness of the vaccine when it is introduced. Mass production of vaccines” .
The new vaccine is expected to enter clinical trials in the second half of 2020 and to be available in the first half of 2021.