AstraZeneca, which is currently working alongside the University of Oxford to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, and has pledged not to "profit from the vaccine during the pandemic" could declare an end to the pandemic as early as July 2021, according to an agreement with a manufacturer.
The UK-based pharmaceutical company has said it could provide doses on a cost basis for at least as long as the pandemic lasts.
However, according to a report on an agreement between them and a Brazilian manufacturer, the so-called "pandemic period" expires on July 1 2021. This deadline could be extended, but only if "AstraZeneca acting in good faith considered that the SARS-COV-2 pandemic is not over," it says.
However, as global cases continue to rise, and with many countries taking extra measures to curb the spread, even optimistic predictions as to the availability of a vaccine do not predict any viable candidate coming forward until at least next summer.
According to a memorandum of understanding between AstraZeneca and Fiocruz, a Brazilian public health institution, which was uncovered by the FT outlines conditions that the UK company produce at least 100 million doses worth $300 million (€254 million).
The costs of such vaccines is a contentious topic, after news that many private firms such as AstraZeneca, received hundreds of millions in public money to fast-track a vaccine. Other companies have admitted they can only make such a vaccine for profit.
Several drugmakers have already signed agreements with governments to produce vaccines, but the details remain confidential.
AstraZeneca has since declined to comment on any of the details involved in their contract with Fiocruz.
In a statement, they said: “From the outset, AstraZeneca’s approach has been to treat the development of the vaccine as a response to a global public health emergency, not a commercial opportunity.
“We continue to operate in that public spirit and we will seek expert guidance, including from global organisations, as to when we can say that the pandemic is behind us.”
Many public health experts say the details of any vaccines are shrouded in secrecy, offering little room for scrutiny.
Ellen ‘t Hoen, director of Medicines Law & Policy, a non-profit campaigning for greater access to medicines, said more transparency was needed.
She told the FT: “Despite all the talk about the Covid-19 vaccine needing to be a ‘global public good’ by political leaders who spend billions on Covid-19 R&D, it seems that it is the drug companies that determine, in secret deals, who will get access to the vaccine and when."
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