Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Why did the WHO reject the vaccine?
Because of its minority shareholder, the tobacco company Philip Morris. Since 2005, the WHO has had strict rules prohibiting links with tobacco and arms manufacturers. Philip Morris is a 21% shareholder in Medicago and the pharmaceutical giant Mitsubishi Tanabe, 79%.
Does the fact that the vaccine is developed based on a plant related to tobacco pose a problem?
” I do not believe. The plant is only used as a reactor which produces the vaccine, but is not in the vaccine as such, ”explains Alain Lamarre, virologist and immunologist at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS).
The Canadian government was well aware of the WHO rules. What prompted him to invest in this vaccine knowing that it risked being rejected by the WHO?
“At the time, there was the urgency of the moment and the government wanted to cover its back with as many suppliers as possible, because we did not know who was going to be the first to discover the vaccine. This is risk management that is correct on the part of a government. Even if the shareholder condition was already known in 2020, the possibility of using it at the local level as a first dose remained,” explains François Dauphin, CEO of the Institute for the Governance of Private and Public Organizations (IGOPP).
” After significant due diligence, it was determined that the company’s shareholding did not preclude investment in the project. Medicago’s presence in Canada helps improve our national health security and pandemic response capabilities, and strengthens our biomanufacturing and life sciences ecosystem,” said Laurie Bouchard, spokesperson for the Minister of Innovation, François-Philippe Champagne.
The federal government provided $173 million in funding in 2020 to Medicago with opt-out clauses. Will they be used?
“All contracts that the Government of Canada signs with vaccine manufacturers include opt-out clauses in case they prove necessary,” says the Government of Canada press release dated October 23, 2020. Spokesperson Laurie Bouchard argues that “the terms relating to the opt-out clauses are commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed”.
The spokesperson recalls that Medicago was the first and only company established in Canada to have received authorization from Health Canada for its vaccine against COVID-19, the first in the world based on plants. For his part, François Dauphin, of the IGOPP, affirms that he “is too early to [jeter l’éponge] with Medicago and that there are actions to be taken internally to resolve the situation. “We realized at the start of the crisis how much of an issue we had in terms of supply, so there is an interest at the local level in being able to develop and maintain this supply capacity. There is certainly a national logic for the government to maintain its commitment. »
What does it change for the vaccine which is already authorized in Canada?
The government has signed an agreement with Medicago to obtain up to 76 million doses. At this time, COVIFENZ is only authorized by Health Canada as a first dose. It cannot be used as a booster dose and combined with mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. “As we know, nearly 90% of Canadians have had their primary dose. Medicago is currently conducting studies to verify the safety and efficacy of a booster dose combined with other mRNA vaccines, explains Alain Lamarre, of INRS. Medicago’s vaccine was to be distributed internationally through the COVAX program. However, since the WHO refused it, this will not be possible for the moment. »
Can Medicago and the government overturn the WHO decision?
“Our government is in contact with the company and is working with it to find a solution,” says Laurie Bouchard. “We have to put pressure on Medicago to solve the shareholder problem and the government can put pressure on the WHO and on the company,” says François Dauphin.
Will this decision prevent the vaccine from being purchased in Europe or the United States?
“Each regulatory agency is independent in its assessment and does not trust the WHO,” says Alain Lamarre, of INRS. We see it here, with Health Canada, which did not wait for the response from the WHO to approve the vaccine. It’s the same thing for the other regulatory agencies who will make their decision according to their own evaluation criteria based mainly on efficacy and harmlessness. »