The Healthcare Industry Collaborates to Fight COVID-19
I have always been proud to say that I work in the healthcare industry, knowing that in my own small way, I am helping to improve human health. However, I have never been prouder of our industry, as I observe how healthcare companies are collaborating with each other, with academic institutions, with charities, with regulators and with other industries to develop vaccines, diagnostics, equipment and medicines to combat COVID-19.
Over the past two months, pharmaceutical companies, such as GSK, Sanofi and Gilead, as well as MedTech companies, such as Medtronic and GE Healthcare, have donated funds, human resources, intellectual property and manufacturing capacity to the global fight against COVID-19. In this article, we at Purdie Pascoe would like to celebrate some of the great initiatives and collaborations that have been launched.
Perhaps the most comprehensive example of collaboration is the consortium of companies who are working together to accelerate the development, manufacture, and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments for COVID-19. Alongside the Gates Foundation, the consortium includes BD, bioMérieux, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Eisai, Lilly, Gilead, GSK, J&J, MSD, Merck KGaA, Novartis, Pfizer, and Sanofi.
Although the COVID-19 virus is new, we are not starting from a zero-knowledge base in tackling it. Pharmaceutical companies have deep scientific knowledge gained from treating other similar coronaviruses and they are pooling resources to rapidly develop new treatments. For example:
Gilead has been working closely with the University of Chicago and regulators to accelerate the development of remdesivir and early Phase III data shows "rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms”.
AbbVie is partnering with European and US health authorities to determine the effectiveness of HIV drugs in treating COVID-19, by sponsoring clinical studies and basic research.
Working with the Rega Institute for Medical Research, University of Leuven, J&J is identifying existing and new antivirals against COVID-19 that could help to provide immediate relief during the current outbreak.
Pfizer has already assessed and screened a number of antivirals that were previously in development and that inhibited the replication of coronaviruses similar to COVID-19 in cultured cells. They are seeking to develop promising agents along accelerated timelines in collaboration with third parties.
GSK is entering into the new collaborative research effort, the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. The aim of the Accelerator is to bring pharmaceutical companies and expert academic institutions into coordinated research programs, with the aim of bringing the most promising molecules forward that could be used to treat cases of COVID-19.
Companies are also working together to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
GSK and Sanofi are joining forces to create a vaccine to stop the spread of Covid-19. To see two of the largest companies in our industry collaborate for the greater good is truly inspiring. They expect their vaccine to be available by the second half of next year.
J&J is leading the way in vaccine development. They have already chosen a lead COVID-19 vaccine and expect to initiate a Phase 1 clinical study by September. J&J anticipates the first batches of a COVID-19 vaccine could be available for emergency use authorisation in early 2021, cutting the usual time for vaccine development to a year from the normal 5-7 years.
Pfizer and BioNTech have entered into a partnership to jointly develop BioNTech’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate and will start clinical testing by the end of April 2020.
Medical device companies play an integral role in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. Various initiatives are in place to upscale the production of ventilators and other essential equipment, while the rapid development of COVID-19 diagnostic tests ensure cases are quickly identified and quarantined. Some specific examples that caught our eye at Purdie Pascoe included:
A wide range of companies working closely with regulators to gain CE mark or emergency use authorisation of over 40 COVID-19 diagnostic tests, including point-of-care tests that provide results in minutes.
Medtronic making the design specifications for its Puritan Bennett 560 (PB 560) ventilator available to the public on March 30 in order to increase global ventilator production.
GE Healthcare working with Ford to scale ventilator production, Ford providing technical and production expertise to manufacture a simplified ventilator design.
GSK, AZ and the University of Cambridge setting up a new testing laboratory at the University’s Anne McLaren laboratory for high throughput screening for COVID-19 testing and to explore the use of alternative chemical reagents for test kits in order to help overcome current supply shortages.
In this short article, it has not been possible to mention all the great work that is taking place. Many initiatives will have been launched in the last few days since going to press. For more information, please visit any of the following industry organisations who are doing a great job in tracking our industry’s contribution to the battle against COVID-19.
IFPMA - https://www.ifpma.org/subtopics/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-industrys-support-on-the-ground
PhRMA - https://phrma.org/en/Coronavirus/PhRMA-Member-Efforts
For more information about this article, please contact Stephen Potts, a Director at Purdie Pascoe, at Stephen.Potts@purdiepascoe.com
