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The current vaccine should be kept at -70 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the European Union will buy 1,800 doses.
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The president of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Albert Bourla, indicated that the company prepares “for the summer” a new version of its vaccine against the coronavirus that can be kept for several months at the temperature of a normal refrigerator, instead of the current -70ºC, which will facilitate its use.
Interviewed by AFP in Puurs (Belgium), a crucial platform in the global production of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, the president and general manager of the US laboratory was “optimistic” about the efficacy of its vaccine against the Indian variant and defended the policy prices from your laboratory.
Question: Is the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine effective against the Brazilian and Indian variants?
Answer: “We already have data on the British variant, which is the majority in Israel, and the efficacy of the vaccine is 97%. In South Africa, before the variant of that country, the efficiency is 100%. And the data from Brazil show that it allows to control very well (the Brazilian variant) ”,
“Regarding the new Indian variant, we do not have data, but I am optimistic about our ability to control it. We have developed a process that allows us to develop an effective vaccine in 100 days from the moment a variant raises concern. And I feel comfortable with this demanding goal, due to the effectiveness of messenger RNA technology. “
Q: Can you produce in Europe for the rest of the world, despite the limitation of conservation at -70ºC?
“We will soon agree, we hope in the next few days, a new contract with the European Union (for 1.8 billion doses). Then we will be able to produce all the doses here in Europe, even the components. And we will also be able to produce much more than the quantities of this contract ”.
“At the moment, we have three production centers in the world: one in the United States and two in Europe with much higher capacity (Puurs and Marburg, in Germany). In total, we should be able to produce 2.5 billion doses this year and even exceed 3 billion from next year. Europe, with its capabilities and talents with regard to new technologies, is the ideal place! ”.
“Regarding the current formula of the vaccine, we are trying to see if we can extend its conservation in a refrigerator during that period in which the vaccine can be removed from a super freezer, at -70ºC, and stored in a classic freezer, at -20ºC. Currently, this period is two weeks, but we are examining the data to see if we can extend it up to a month. But for this we need a regulatory approval ”.
“On the other hand, we are working on another formula, much improved, in which the vaccine that we will provide will already be diluted and ready to be used. It can be kept for two or three months in a refrigerator, at a temperature between 2ºC and 8ºC, and two or three more months in a classic freezer. We hope it will be available for this summer ”.
Q: Your vaccine is one of the most expensive and the price could still increase in Europe. How do you justify it?
A: “Our strategy is to propose a pricing that allows equitable access for all. But fair does not mean the same price for everyone, it means giving more to those who need it most. For this reason, we have a premium price range for higher income countries such as Europe, the United States, Japan or Canada. But the highest price (of the vaccine) corresponds to what a meal costs in a restaurant, which seems very, very reasonable to me ”.
“For middle-income countries, according to the World Bank, we will cut prices in half. And for low-income countries, we will also provide them with the manufacturing price, and thus ensure that vaccination reaches all corners of the planet ”. (I)
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