4 ms·

i think it’s due to the fact AZN isn’t a traditional vaccine producer. what’s most striking to me is the complete silence (till recently) of the big 3 vaccine

by kmlx 6y ago

i think it’s due to the fact AZN isn’t a traditional vaccine producer. what’s most striking to me is the complete silence (till recently) of the big 3 vaccine manufacturers: gsk, merck and sanofi. no vaccines from the biggest producers? an interesting article that i found about this strange situation: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/657b123a-78ba-4fba-b18e-23c07e313331 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/657b123a-7...

ImprovedSilence 6y ago
I heard merck is partnered with J&J to help make their vaccine.
- kmlx 6y ago
  yes, after the Biden admin made a push. otherwise i don't think they would have gotten involved imo.
dtf 6y ago
Merck was the Oxford team's first choice of manufacturer. But the UK health minister overruled and told them they needed to use a British manufacturer. [1] "[T]he Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was very nearly the Oxford-Merck vaccine - and under the terms of the agreement with the American pharmaceutical giant, there were no guarantees of supply. The episode played out against the backdrop of the first phase of the pandemic. During March and April 2020, the University of Oxford negotiated a deal which would allow Merck to manufacture and distribute the vaccine it was in the process of developing. The arrangement made sense. Unlike British-Swedish AstraZeneca, Merck had experience in making vaccines. Its senior executives had links to Oxford scientist and government adviser Sir John Bell. Yet when the contract reached Matt Hancock's desk, the former adviser said, the health secretary refused to approve it, because it didn't include provisions specifically committing to supply the UK first." [1] https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-rejected-contracts-and-a-hollywood-movie-how-uk-struck-deal-to-guarantee-vaccine-supply-12204044 https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-rejected-contracts-and-a...
- kmlx 6y ago
  then why not use gsk?
  - dtf 6y ago
    Not sure ... but didn't GSK partner with Sanofi on a vaccine that didn't work out? Sorry, I can't read your FT link :)
    - kmlx 6y ago
      they partenerd with Sanofi, but that vaccine failed. so they moved to providing an "“adjuvant” — an ingredient that can be added to vaccines to boost immune response — to several vaccine makers"

by kmlx 6y ago

ImprovedSilence 6y ago

I heard merck is partnered with J&J to help make their vaccine.

kmlx 6y ago
yes, after the Biden admin made a push. otherwise i don't think they would have gotten involved imo.

dtf 6y ago

Merck was the Oxford team's first choice of manufacturer. But the UK health minister overruled and told them they needed to use a British manufacturer. [1] "[T]he Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was very nearly the Oxford-Merck vaccine - and under the terms of the agreement with the American pharmaceutical giant, there were no guarantees of supply. The episode played out against the backdrop of the first phase of the pandemic. During March and April 2020, the University of Oxford negotiated a deal which would allow Merck to manufacture and distribute the vaccine it was in the process of developing. The arrangement made sense. Unlike British-Swedish AstraZeneca, Merck had experience in making vaccines. Its senior executives had links to Oxford scientist and government adviser Sir John Bell. Yet when the contract reached Matt Hancock's desk, the former adviser said, the health secretary refused to approve it, because it didn't include provisions specifically committing to supply the UK first." [1] https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-rejected-contracts-and-a-hollywood-movie-how-uk-struck-deal-to-guarantee-vaccine-supply-12204044 https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-rejected-contracts-and-a...

kmlx 6y ago
then why not use gsk?
- dtf 6y ago
  Not sure ... but didn't GSK partner with Sanofi on a vaccine that didn't work out? Sorry, I can't read your FT link :)
  - kmlx 6y ago
    they partenerd with Sanofi, but that vaccine failed. so they moved to providing an "“adjuvant” — an ingredient that can be added to vaccines to boost immune response — to several vaccine makers"