COVID-19 vaccine creators have become billionaires: there would be enough money for vaccinations for all poor countries - ForumDaily
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COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Become Billionaires: Their Money Would Be Enough To Inoculate All Poor Countries

At least nine people have become new billionaires since the start of the coronavirus pandemic thanks to excessive profits from pharmaceutical corporations with monopolies on COVID vaccines. OXFAM.

Photo: Shutterstock

Together, the nine new billionaires have a combined net worth of $ 19,3 billion, enough to fully vaccinate all people in low-income countries 1,3 times. Meanwhile, these countries received only 0,2 percent of the global vaccine supply due to the huge shortage of available doses, despite the fact that they are home to 10 percent of the world's population.

In addition, the combined fortune of the eight billionaires who have vast portfolios in pharmaceutical corporations to produce the COVID-19 vaccine have increased by $ 32,2 billion, enough to fully vaccinate all of India's residents.

Campaigners in the People's Vaccine Alliance, which includes Global Justice Now, Oxfam and UNAIDS, analyzed Forbes Rich List data to highlight the enormous wealth generated by a handful of people with largely government-funded vaccines.

Anna Marriott, Oxfam's health policy manager, said: "It's a testament to our collective failure to control this cruel disease that we are rapidly creating new vaccine billionaires but failing completely to vaccinate the billions of people who desperately need safety."

“These billionaires are the human face of the enormous profits that many pharmaceutical corporations are making from their monopoly on these vaccines. They are funded by public funds and should be primarily a global public good, not an opportunity for private profit. We urgently need to end these monopolies so we can increase vaccine production, lower prices and vaccinate the world.”

Vaccine billionaires are being created as drug firm stocks soar in anticipation of huge profits from COVID-19 vaccines, over which these firms have monopoly control. The Alliance has warned that these monopolies allow pharmaceutical corporations to fully control the supply and price of vaccines, boosting their profits while making it difficult for poor countries, in particular, to secure needed supplies.

On the subject: Science to Save the World: US Cancels COVID-19 Vaccine Patents

Earlier this month, the US backed proposals from South Africa and India at the World Trade Organization to temporarily break those monopolies and remove patents on COVID-19 vaccines. The move has received support from more than 100 developing countries, and in recent days, countries such as Spain have also pledged their support, as has the Pope and more than 100 world leaders and Nobel laureates.

Despite this, other wealthy countries, including the UK and Germany, are still blocking the proposal, putting the interests of pharmaceutical companies ahead of what is best for the world. Italy continues to be on the sidelines of this issue, as do Canada and France.

Heidi Chow, Senior Policy and Campaigns Manager at Global Justice Now, said: “With thousands of people dying every day in India, it is absolutely disgusting that the UK, Germany and other countries want to put the interests of Big Pharma’s billionaire owners ahead of the desperate needs of millions. Our highly effective vaccines are made with huge amounts of taxpayer money, so it's unfair that individuals are profiting while hundreds of millions of people face the second and third waves completely unprotected. That a handful of people working in pharmaceutical companies have been allowed to become billionaires thanks to publicly funded efforts to end the pandemic is a sad indictment of the loyalty of some current governments.”

The list of new billionaires who have cashed in on the success of COVID vaccines is led by the CEOs of Moderna and BioNTech, each with a net worth of more than $4 billion. The list also includes two of Moderna's founding investors and the company's chairman and CEO of the company that struck the deal to manufacture and package Moderna's vaccine. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of funding for the Moderna vaccine was paid for by taxpayers. The last three vaccine billionaires are co-founders of Chinese vaccine company CanSino Biologics.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said: “While the companies making huge profits from COVID vaccines refuse to share their science and technology with others to increase the global supply of vaccines, the world continues to face a very real risk of mutations. This could render our vaccines ineffective and put everyone at risk again. The pandemic has cost a terrible human toll, so it is outrageous that profits continue to outpace saving lives.”

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The data is taken from an analysis of Forbes' annual list of wealthy people, published on April 6, 2021.

The vaccination figures for all the poorest countries are based on low-income countries with a population of 775 (UN data). The average cost of a vaccine, US$710, is based on the average cost of a vaccination course from five leading vaccine manufacturers. However, prices should be much lower, and $612 is meant to be illustrative and not proof of these unacceptably high prices. The money of new billionaires can vaccinate all low-income countries by 19 times. India has a population of 19 billion, and an increase in the wealth of 1,3 existing billionaires would allow 1,38 vaccinations for every person in India. All figures are based on a two-dose vaccination regimen.

Nine billionaires who received new vaccines, in order of net worth:

  • Stefan Bansel, CEO of Moderna ($ 4,3 billion)
  • Ugur Sakhin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech ($ 4 billion);
  • Timothy Springer, immunologist and founding investor of Moderna ($ 2,2 billion);
  • Noubar Afeyan, Chairman of Moderna ($ 1,9 billion);
  • Juan López-Belmonte, chairman of ROVI, the company behind the $ 1,8 billion Moderna vaccine and packaging deal;
  • Robert Langer, scientist and co-founder of Moderna ($ 1,6 billion);
  • Zhu Tao, co-founder and chief scientist of CanSino Biologics ($ 1,3 billion);
  • Qiu Dongxiu, co-founder and senior vice president of CanSino Biologics ($ 1,2 billion);
  • Mao Huihua, also co-founder and senior vice president of CanSino Biologics ($ 1 billion).

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