Russia became the first country to approve a vaccine for COVID-19 last week. According to the New York Times, Vladimir Putin, told a cabinet meeting that the vaccine “works effectively enough,” and said that his own daughter had taken it. What does this mean for Russia and the rest of the world?
The vaccine could be a geopolitical boon for Russia, as the Soviet Union’s mass exports of cheap vaccines to the developing world was during the Cold War.
Russia has received orders for 1 billion doses from 20 countries and plans to manufacture the vaccine in Brazil, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Cuba.
At least 20 countries and some US companies have expressed interest in the vaccine, according to Russian officials. (NYT, CNN)
However, there are a number of caveats.
For instance, it’s unclear whether the vaccine will actually work, since Russia hasn’t yet conducted Phase III trials for the vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V, and also hasn’t released any proof that the vaccine works. (The Guardian)
Russia has been accused of stealing vaccine research, and the US has refused to accept Russian help with its official vaccination effort, Operation Warp Speed. (NYT, CNN)
The US isn’t the only country with skeptics, Anthony Fauci among them. The director of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund bewailed what he called an international “information war” against the vaccine. (ABC, Newsweek, Bloomberg)
Notably, China has been more bullish on Russia’s efforts, even though ostensibly they have been lapped by Moscow in the vaccine race. The state-sponsored Global Times quoted Tao Lina, “a Shanghai-based vaccine researcher,” who “estimated a 90 percent chance of success for the Russian candidate [and said] that it is unnecessary to be overly concerned as it must have passed proper tests.”
In other news, China and the US are lining up partnerships to distribute a vaccine once it passes all trials:
China and Chinese makers of vaccines have prioritized partnering with developing countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan, Russia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, and the Philippines, as well as makers of advanced vaccine candidates like Britain-based AstraZeneca, while the US has courted some strategically-located countries such as Malaysia as well as traditional allies like Mexico for vaccine cooperation. (WSJ, Reuters, VOA)
Goldman Sachs released forecasts last week that predicted “at least one vaccine will gain FDA approval this fall,” and be widely distributed by the second quarter of 2021. (Forbes)
Outside of COVID-19, China continues to prioritize its biotech investment efforts.
“There were 95 biotech-related deals [in China by] June of this year, drawing $12 billion in total investment, an unprecedented volume of deals, according to Biomedtracker and Chinabio. Two thirds of the deals involved financing, 21 were business development or licensing deals and there were 11 IPOs or follow-on public offerings.” (BioWorld)
US-based company Denali partnered with the Chinese Biogen to co-develop a treatment for Parkinson’s, to the tune of $2B. (The Pharma Letter)
Dig deeper: a report from BusinessWire on the current state of China’s biotech landscape.
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