We’re continuing to keep track of updates from BIO members and industry innovators, who continue to research vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for COVID-19. Here are two updates from BIO members Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
Pfizer released a five-point plan, calling on the industry to commit to “unprecedented collaboration to combat COVID-19.”
Here’s what they’ll do:
- Share tools and insights.
- Create a “SWAT team of our leading virologists, biologists, chemists, clinicians, epidemiologists, vaccine experts, pharmaceutical scientists and other key experts to focus solely on addressing this pandemic.”
- Share clinical development and regulatory expertise with smaller companies.
- Offer “excess manufacturing capacity” and “potentially shifting production” to rapidly manufacture an approved therapy or vaccine.
- Reach out to federal agencies to “build a cross-industry rapid response team.”
What they’re saying: “Pfizer calls on all members of the innovation ecosystem—from large pharmaceutical companies to the smallest of biotech companies, from government agencies to academic institutions—to commit to work together in addressing this dire crisis. With our combined efforts we know that there is no health challenge that we cannot overcome,” said Pfizer Chair & CEO Dr. Albert Bourla.
Johnson & Johnson is aiming for a vaccine clinical trial by the end of the year, one element of their own comprehensive plan.
They have experience in this kind of research. Working with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, they plan to leverage research for Ebola, Zika, RSV, and HIV vaccines and identify a candidate by the end of March.
They’re ramping up manufacturing capacities, too—so, when a vaccine is developed, it can be manufactured quickly on a large scale.
Masters’ Message: The science and our researchers are moving at warp-speed, but until we find a solution the American people should listen to the experts and stay safe and calm. The world is looking to the scientists in our industry to come to the rescue and because we have the best system in the world, our scientists will succeed. – Rich Masters, BIO’s EVP for Public Affairs. Follow Rich on Twitter (@RichMasters) for industry news, political commentary and insights from a seasoned communications professional.
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