Trump administration says drug makers will continue to work together to combat coronavirus
03 March, 2020
The Trump administration said on Monday it had secured commitments from top pharmaceutical companies to work together to develop a vaccine and treatments to fight the coronavirus.
At a gathering with industry executives at the White House, USA President Donald Trump exhorted the companies to collaborate to speed the procedure to getting a vaccine and therapeutics to victims of the virus.
The company leaders indicated a willingness to cooperate with each other, but did not construct how that could happen.
The White House, which includes clashed previously with the pharmaceutical industry over high drug prices and has been struggling in recent weeks showing it is along with the virus response, saw the meeting as a victory.
"This is all hands on deck. And the news headlines out of the meeting you've already formed a consortia ... now we realize they'll be working together to create therapeutics and in the end a new vaccine," Vice President Mike Pence said as the session drew to a close.
The global death toll from the condition caused by the brand new coronavirus now exceeds 3,000, with an increase of than 60 countries affected. In the United States, there have been more than 90 cases, with six deaths.
Trump pressed the representatives at the table about their timeframes so you can get a vaccine ready and took upbeat comments from a few of the company leaders to imply that it could be prepared to deploy within months.
"You seem to know very well what the answer is to the," Trump said. "Take action. We are looking for it."
Pressed on whether the vaccine would be ready in the short timeframe he desired, Trump said he previously heard from the leaders at the table a range of 3 to 4 months to a year. But Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases, stepped in and urged those at the table to improve the president's impression.
"He's asking the question: When is it likely to be deployable? And that will be at the initial a year to a year and a half," Fauci said.
Trump, who has sought to suggest a vaccine would be ready before medical researchers have indicated, followed up after Fauci's comments: "You imagine that's right?"
Attendees assured him that treatments, instead of a vaccine itself, could be ready before that.
Attendees included the principle executives of Gilead Sciences Inc, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, Moderna Inc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc and also research and development executives from Pfizer Inc, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi SA, which will work on vaccines or treatments for the virus.
Despite having Trump voicing hope that the firms can accelerate their development whenever you can, executives and other authorities have suggested that clinical trials to guarantee a vaccine is effective and safe could mean that it could take a the least 12 to 1 . 5 years to hit the marketplace.
Antiviral treatments may move faster toward approval.
Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, told Trump the business had recognized compounds that had a higher possibility of being effective against the virus.
After the meeting, Pfizer said in a statement it had determined some antiviral compounds it owns as potential treatments for coronaviruses and was working with a third party to evaluate them.
It said if indeed they proved to be good applicants and passed toxicology studies, it hoped to begin testing them clinically by the end of the year.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com