Pfizer avoided funding for Trump’s Operation Warp Speed ​​R&D due to bureaucracy and politics

Pfizer clarified its relationship to Operation Warp Speed ​​on Monday afternoon, after previous comments from the pharmaceutical company’s chief research and development officer seemed to indicate that it had no connection to the program of the White House. Donald Trump’s administration launched the initiative at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It was designed with the intention of producing and distributing 300 million doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines by January, in coordination with contracted companies.

Although Pfizer has agreed to distribute at least 100 million doses of its vaccine, if it has been shown to be safe and effective, to the US government for nearly $ 2 billion as part of Operation Warp Speed, staff of the company noted that it funded research and development independently.

“Pfizer is proud to be one of the various vaccine manufacturers participating in Operation Warp Speed ​​as a supplier of a potential COVID-19 vaccine,” a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement sent at Newsweek Monday afternoon. “While Pfizer entered into an early purchase agreement with the US government, the company did not accept BARDA [Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority] funding of the research and development process, ”the statement continued.

Pfizer has refused R&D funding in an attempt to ‘free’ scientists from bureaucratic limits as they work to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, pharmaceutical company CEO Dr Albert Bourla said in an interview in September with CBS News’s Margaret Brennan.

“Yes [Pfizer’s vaccine program] fails, it goes in our pocket, ”Bourla said, responding to a question from Brennan about why the company was risking the financial burden of research and development when it could have received BARDA funding via Operation Warp Speed.

“At the end of the day, it’s just money. It won’t break the business, although it will be painful as we are investing at least a billion and a half in COVID right now,” the CEO added. . “But the reason I did it was because I wanted to free our scientists from any bureaucracy.

Bourla later told Brennan he wanted to ensure that researchers could focus exclusively on “scientific challenges” and allow the company to pursue a potential vaccine candidate without the pressures that come with outside intervention or surveillance. .

“When you get money from someone who always comes with strings. They want to see how we’re going to progress, what kind of moves you are going to do. They want reports,” he concluded. “Also, I wanted to keep Pfizer out of politics, by the way.”

Bourla’s comments in September circulated on social media Monday, after Pfizer shared the results of an early review of its vaccine program, developed in coordination with German biotech company BioNTech. According to the latest update from Pfizer, preliminary test data indicated that the immunization candidate was “over 90 percent effective” in protecting against COVID-19.

Le rapport n’a pas encore été publié par une publication à comité de lecture au moment de l’annonce de Pfizer, qui a déclenché une vague de questions de la part des scientifiques lors de sa publication lundi. La société a déclaré qu’elle prévoyait de demander une approbation réglementaire à la Food and Drug Administration des États-Unis au cours de la troisième semaine de novembre, une fois que des données supplémentaires seront collectées.

L’annonce a été accueillie par des messages de célébration de Trump et du vice-président Mike Pence, qui a crédité “le partenariat public-privé forgé par le président @realDonaldTrump” dans un tweet répondre à la mise à jour de Pfizer.

Kathrin Jansen, responsable de la recherche et du développement de vaccins chez Pfizer, a par la suite éloigné le programme de vaccination de l’opération Warp Speed ​​dans des commentaires à Le New York Times.

“Nous n’avons jamais fait partie du Warp Speed”, a-t-elle déclaré au journal. “Nous n’avons jamais pris d’argent du gouvernement américain ou de qui que ce soit.”

Dans la déclaration de suivi de Pfizer, la société a déclaré que Jansen «soulignait» le fait que «tous les investissements de R&D ont été réalisés par Pfizer à risque».