もっと資金を供給すれば、大手メガファーマが格段に供給量を増やせたか？それは各社に聞かないと分かりませんが、難しかったのではないかと想像します。まして無償でそのリソースを提供するのは相当困難な経営判断で、非常時であればそれを強制出来るものでしょうか？
COVID-19レベルのパンデミックになると、事実として「必要な量が作れない」ものだと思われます。たまたま非常に優秀な企業とそれをサポートする国があったから、かなりの量のワクチンがタイムリーに供給されましたが、それ自体が奇跡の様に思えます。私も三重大発のワクチンベンチャーの取締役を拝命していますが、その会社でもウイルスベクターワクチンを研究室レベルでは2020年４月段階で作れていました。その種を今のファイザーレベルの生産が出来る様になるには資金が潤沢にあったとしても3年はかかると思います。
従って問題は、限られた量のワクチンをどう配分するかであって、特許を独占したか否かではないと思えます。経済合理性に従って配分された現実は、多くのヒトに不愉快であったのは理解できますが、果たして解決策があったのでしょうか？
仮に十分な資金を大手医薬品企業が毎年Covaxに拠出して、その資金で先進国と同じ価格で途上国用に供給する仕組みを作ればPfizer・モデルナはもっと作れたかもしれません。でも全員には行き渡らないので、どこかで同じ問題に遭遇するように思います。
利益が出すぎないレベルの価格設定をする方法はあったと思いますが、そこは営利企業として見解が分かれるところでしょう。
＜医薬品企業は儲け過ぎているのか？＞
儲け過ぎているのかもしれませんが、違和感は正直ありません。
儲かりすぎている医薬品企業の数はほんの一握りです。大変目立つし、巨額の富を築いているので社会的な批判を受けやすいですね。産業構造はエンタテイメントの世界に近いと感じています。海面の下に多くの下積みの俳優や歌手が競い合っているが、トップにたどり着くのはごく一部の人で、99％は下積みで終了し、経済的にも苦労が絶えない。しかし一旦脚光を浴びスターになると巨万の富を得る事が出来る。またトップの事務所やプロデューサーは自由にスターを見出し、自分の傘下に収めて、多くの企画やショーをプロデュースする。
医薬品の開発も、大学の研究、ベンチャー企業による開発、それに公的資金やVC資金が大量に投入されているが、そこはあまり注目されない。多くの企業が死の谷を迎えて消滅していく。99%の企業は日の目を見ずに終わるが、一部のシーズは大きな花を咲かせる。その1%の花を大手企業は買占め、自社の成長に繋げる。大手企業の幹部は大金を得て、経済的な成功を収める。我々ベンチャーは大手プロデューサーに見初められる日を夢見て、新たな技術を創成し開発する。
The second series of my dialogue with a high-ranking government official – part II
Could Pfizer and AZ significantly increase its supply of corona vaccines with more government funding? I need to ask each company for their assessment as a matter of fact, but I imagine it was very difficult for them to scale up their manufacturing capacity further even with additional funding. There’s always limits of resources to build up large manufacturing operations in a short period of time. Therefore, if developing countries in short of vaccine supply ask the manufacturers to allocate their financial resources upfront and free, there would be no way for their management to support. Can they enforce it at the time of human emergency?
When it comes to a COVID-19 level pandemic, the fact is that you can’t probably produce the volume for everybody on earth. It seems like a miracle falling on us that super capable global companies backed up by UK and US governments financially were able to deliver a fair amount of vaccines in a timely manner. I serve a small bio-venture specialized in viral vector vaccines as Director of the Board. They succeeded in creating COVID-19 vaccines at their laboratory early in 2020. That said, I think it would take at least three years for them, even with abundant funds, to commercialize such and early stage seed and produce enough volume.
The key question to ask is how to distribute the limited amount of vaccine globally, not whether or not the patent should be monopolized. I understand that the people deeply feel uncomfortable when they learn the reality that the vaccines have been actually distributed globally according to economic judgement of private firms.
Vaccine manufacturers might have produced sufficient volume of vaccines for more developing countries if there is a financial commitment from Covax to buy vaccines at similar prices to G7 countries even using grants and funds contributed by mega-pharma companies. But it is unlikely that everybody on earth will be injected anyway, so they will run into the same problem to allocate vaccines anywhere.
<Are pharmaceutical companies making too much money? ＞
The top pharmaceutical companies may be too profitable, but I don’t feel any discomfort.
The number of pharmaceutical companies making too much profits is really limited, but they stand out and are easy to be criticized as they have huge wealth. I find the pharmaceutical industry and its structure is close to the world of entertainment. There are many unknown actors and singers competing under the surface of the sea, but only a small number of talents reach the top, and 99% of talents finish their career as underlay, always finding it difficult to make their ends meet. Once in the limelight and becoming a star, you can earn huge wealth. Top showbiz offices and producers are free to find potential stars and put them under their control to produce many top projects and shows.
As for the development of pharmaceuticals, quite a few funds are actually allocated to academic research and bio-venture companies in aggregate either as a form of academic research funds or VC investments. But those efforts are not attracting much public attention usually. Most of research disappear before commercialization in the so-called “Death Valley”. That said, some research seeds may end up having big flowers. Large companies buy up those flowers, which will lead to their future growth. The executives of Big Pharma companies make a lot of money and achieve financial success, while venture companies dream of the day when they get in the limelight and are scouted by famous producers (“Big Pharma”).
