AMI's article in The Times - Governments must act to ensure vaccines are available to all
The pharmaceutical industry is racing to develop, and trial, a vital vaccine for COVID-19. As a global community, we have to ask ourselves why we weren’t better equipped. The SARS, MERS, and Ebola outbreaks should have triggered widespread investments to develop vaccines in anticipation of future epidemics.
In 2016, researchers were working to develop a vaccine for SARS but because it wasn’t considered a ‘profitable’ option, it was dropped by pharmaceutical investors putting an end to work which could have left us better placed to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
The lack of government oversight on research for diseases with outbreak potential has left us vulnerable.
It is clear that the market, and the monopolies that drive pharmaceutical profits, control not only what medicines will be developed, but who gets access. In 2018 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis. This is despite the fact that TB is curable, and that successful treatments exist. Some 95% of deaths were in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where patients could not afford life-saving medicine.
Public health does not feature in the plans of large companies, particularly in LMICS which are not considered to be lucrative markets. If medicines are effective, price should not preclude their use from those who are most affected by these crises - the patients themselves.
The rapid spread of COVID-19 across 205 countries worldwide to-date is a tragic reminder of our fragility. Disease does not respect borders, economies, or political ideologies. And yet, in our darkest moments, the response to COVID-19 has highlighted solidarity on a global level. We are stronger together.
We have seen welcoming progress: private beds being made available to treat patients; hotels opening up to healthcare staff; and expansion of open source research which facilitates the sharing of ideas between teams of scientists towards the discovery of a vaccine. This enables the proliferation of ideas and a reduction in the length of time it takes to bring a drug into supply.
Now is the time for national and international governments, NGOs, academics, health professionals and industries, to work collaboratively to develop an alternative system of medicines development driven by a collective public health mandate. We have the knowledge and the solutions, what we need now, and urgently, is to transform will into action.
Governments must recognise the immense public funding contribution to the development of new medicines. Globally, it is estimated that 85% of cancer research, for example, is government subsidised either by universities or research centres. Yet CAR-T cell therapy, an emerging immunotherapy for use in the treatment of haematological cancers, were estimated by the inventor of the drug in Pennsylvania to cost $20,000. Novartis set the price of the single infusion treatment at $475,000.
Governments must use their power to direct medical development and to attach conditions on public funding contributions that prohibit profiteering from COVID-19.
Access to Medicines Ireland has called on Irish Research Organisations to make sure that research being undertaken contains affordability clauses and restrictions to exclusive patents. We have supported a call to the EU Presidency and Commission by Health Action International (HAI) and the European Alliance for Responsible R&D and Affordable Medicines seeking that, for COVID-19, all “necessary medical tools are free of charge at the point of delivery, particularly for vulnerable populations”.
As a former academic researcher in pharmacology, now working to strengthen surgical services in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, and a member of Access to Medicines Ireland, I have had a glimpse into both sides of the story. I understand the dedicated work and time that goes into developing medicines, but I also see how deeply flawed our present profit driven model is in bringing those drugs to market. When people become unnecessarily sick because governments cannot afford to provide treatments - then that system is broken. We must act now to repair it.
Morgane Clarke works as a researcher for SURG-Africa, based in RCSI. She is a member of Access to Medicines Ireland, a lobbying group made up of doctors, healthcare workers, patient advocates and academics. The Access to Medicines Ireland web conference will take place via zoom, 10:00 - 13:00 Tuesday 7th April. For more, see our Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adapting-to-covid-19-defending-the-public-interest-in-vaccine-and-medical-development-tickets-89013579011
The article can be found here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/governments-must-act-to-ensure-vaccines-are-available-to-all-76wwwcsbt