At present, 32 per cent of the world population has received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to Our World in Data. In contrast, just one per cent of people in low-income countries have received one dose, contributing to the low percentage rate of fully vaccinated people around the global, which currently stands at 24 per cent.
Calls have been made to waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines to allow for poorer countries to produce the same vaccines without any legal repercussions, while concerns remain over how pharma companies are responding to the global health crisis.
Authors of the article, What are the obligations of pharmaceutical companies in a global health emergency, reported that: “Vaccine development, production, procurement and distribution is ad hoc, generating controversy and inconsistency. Pharma companies have been criticized for knowledge hoarding, secret pricing, unreasonable profits, unfair bilateral deals and extortionate demands for indemnification against liability.”
Contrary to this, the Gates Foundation and major pharma companies including AstraZeneca, Gilead and Johnson & Johnson released a statement that said: “Through partnerships with other stakeholders, we are committed to ensuring global access to diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines that will help to accelerate the end of the pandemic.”
With the moral obligation of pharma companies to procure, fairly distribute and guarantee access to Covid-19 vaccines to every country in the world, as stated by the World Health Organization, this week’s Keeping tabs on Covid-19 round up dives into the recent vaccination progress made by big pharma companies to combat the pandemic.
Roche-Regeneron approved in the UK
Following the approval of Roche-Regeneron’s antibody cocktail for Covid-19 in Japan, the UK’s drug regulator has also approved the treatment as hospitalization rates rise due to the infectious Delta variant.
"This treatment will be a significant addition to our armory to tackle Covid-19," UK Health Minister Sajid Javid said.
Javid said the UK government would start to roll out the therapy across the UK’s National Health Service as soon as possible.
AstraZeneca tees up a win
AstraZeneca’s antibody combination, which has been modified to provide long-lasting protection, has demonstrated prevention of Covid-19 symptoms in a Phase 2 clinical trial.
Trial data indicated that the antibody cocktail could reduced risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 by 77 per cent.
Mene Pangalos, Executive VP at AstraZeneca, said: “We need additional approaches for individuals who are not adequately protected by Covid-19 vaccines. We are very encouraged by these efficacy and safety data in high-risk people, showing our long-acting antibody combination has the potential to protect from symptomatic and severe disease, alongside vaccines.”
Amgen protects its front-line workers
Amgen has announced as an added measure to keep its staff safe, it would be providing all staff, including field and remote staff in the US and Puerto Rico, with double doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The company released a statement saying: “One of our core values at Amgen is to be science-based. The scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that widespread vaccination is the most effective measure to protect our staff, our families and our communities from serious illness and limit the spread of Covid-19.”
Merck treatment under rolling regulatory review
Merck’s oral antiviral agent molnupiravir has been accepted by Canada’s regulatory agency for rolling submission under the Interim Order of the Minister of Health. This has permitted the review of initial safety, quality and efficacy findings while late-stage studies are underway.
Pharmaphorum reported: “There is a lot of expectation about the potential of molnupiravir as an orally-active drug that could be used to treat less severe, non-hospitalized cases of Covid-19.”
Merck is developing molnupiravir in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
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