Authors Faisal Islam
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Different type of vaccine being developed at Scottish factory of a French company - an “inactivated whole virus” - UK task force secured 60m dose preorder in July for €470m with options for 130m more 2022-25, invested in factory. EU finalised first order of 30m this month.
Basically the Government through @katebingham acted like a venture capital fund, funding many vaccine candidates, expensively, across different types of tech, with companies from different countries (at time of some scepticism that a working vaccine could be produced so quickly)
Though despite the fact French Valneva had been funded for its vaccines in general in 2018 by EU’s investment bank, UK funding guaranteed its production in UK (speculative VC style investment) - similarly UK signed deal with Pfizer for German developed/ funded Biontech vaccine
UK approach explicitly focussed on speed (and boosting poor UK vaccine supply chain), at expense of cost. cost of individual batches, and cost of investing in spread of vaccines, not all would eventually be needed/ used...
EU focussed on lower price, & helping smaller EU nations
approach with Astra Zeneca went further - UK Govt via Matt Hancock involved in matchmaking AZ with Oxford University, funded early clinical trials that eg enabled private jets to ferry samples etc - 100m doses and pricing at cost were part of that deal struck at April wave 1 peak
It\u2019s brilliant that @ValnevaSE is starting the large-scale manufacture of its potential vaccine, creating 100 high-skilled jobs at their Livingston facility.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 28, 2021
We\u2019ve secured 60m doses due to be delivered by the end of the year if it is approved for use.https://t.co/4pDUbczlVl
Basically the Government through @katebingham acted like a venture capital fund, funding many vaccine candidates, expensively, across different types of tech, with companies from different countries (at time of some scepticism that a working vaccine could be produced so quickly)
Though despite the fact French Valneva had been funded for its vaccines in general in 2018 by EU’s investment bank, UK funding guaranteed its production in UK (speculative VC style investment) - similarly UK signed deal with Pfizer for German developed/ funded Biontech vaccine
UK approach explicitly focussed on speed (and boosting poor UK vaccine supply chain), at expense of cost. cost of individual batches, and cost of investing in spread of vaccines, not all would eventually be needed/ used...
EU focussed on lower price, & helping smaller EU nations
approach with Astra Zeneca went further - UK Govt via Matt Hancock involved in matchmaking AZ with Oxford University, funded early clinical trials that eg enabled private jets to ferry samples etc - 100m doses and pricing at cost were part of that deal struck at April wave 1 peak