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On Monday, the news sparked great enthusiasm around the world: Pfizer and Biontech, two heavyweights in the vaccination industry, would have developed the first highly effective vaccine against the coronavirus, with a protective effect of over 90%.
Steve Pascolo (55), immunologist at the University of Zurich, sees this positively: “The applause is justified. The news this week is very good, the joy is just as great. “Now you are almost there. The success report is not a surprise, however:” There is a good chance we will be vaccinated this year. they were promising, the success story was only a matter of time “.
Other experts are much more cautious. Michael Nawrath (57), pharmaceutical analyst at Zürcher Kantonalbank: “The reaction to the report has been completely exaggerated. It was a great day for science, but we are still a long way from a vaccine. Too many things are unclear. “
For example, no one knows how long vaccination protection will last or whether vaccinated people are contagious. Furthermore, only 94 infected people were examined in the interim analysis; provisional vaccine protection of 90% was extrapolated from this limited group. However, no elderly patients at risk were among those examined.
When the vaccine actually hits the market, it’s not possible to estimate how well it will work and who will benefit from it, clarifies Nawrath. His conclusion: “The Pfizer / Biontech message was miserably communicated and raised too much hope.”
“The message puts pressure on all pages”
Patrick Durisch (55) of the independent organization Public Eye is also bothered by the pharmaceutical giant’s approach. Usually, new developments are examined in more detail before being made public. “The protest is now causing great pressure from all sides, for example on regulators,” says the health expert. “The question arises as to whether the companies have not acted too hastily in mutual competition.”
Among other things, Durisch disagrees with the fact that the pharmaceutical industry can benefit from the success of public research. The World Health Organization and other institutions would take billions into their hands to research the virus. “The pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, did not take part in the research. They are now building vaccines based on research and selling them at a profit, ”says Durisch.
Marcel Sennhauser, deputy head of the Scienceindustries pharmaceutical umbrella association, says pharmaceutical companies have participated in the research. “According to our calculations, the development of a new therapy costs well over a billion francs,” says Sennhauser. Furthermore, only one in ten research projects are successful on average, which translates into high downtime costs.
The monopoly of the sector is also becoming increasingly evident. Only a few companies are still able to produce drugs or vaccines in large quantities. Swiss companies Roche and Novartis, for example, have withdrawn from vaccination.
40, 50 or 70 francs per vaccination dose?
Companies that can now set market prices almost a will benefit. Pfizer will charge around $ 40 per vaccinated person, which is roughly the same as a regular flu shot. At Moderna, on the other hand, you pay almost double at $ 70. Plus, large sums are already flowing into early bookings.
This week, the Federal Council increased the purchase budget from 300 million francs to 400 million francs, without knowing exactly which vaccines will hit the market, when and with what quality.
It would be around 50 francs per capita, which is high by international standards. The United States, for example, has allocated around 15 francs per person for the booking of vaccines in an initial phase. The vaccine market with a total volume of approximately $ 50 billion and annual growth of 7 percent should in any case return to strong growth.
Industry representative Sennhauser stresses that despite the high spending of industrialized countries, all countries should have a chance. “The pharmaceutical industry is eager to support fair distribution between states. These discussions are currently underway internationally. The supply of countries with lower health budgets is an important topic. “
Public Eye experts are skeptical of these claims. According to their calculations, eight billion vaccination doses will ideally be available in 2021, which is enough for nearly four billion vaccinations at best. At the moment, however, nine billion cans are already reserved. This means that not all countries will have access at the same speed.
For health expert Patrick Durisch it is therefore clear: “There is little sense of solidarity in the current situation, neither between pharmaceutical companies nor between states”.
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