Response to coronavirus outbreak – Call for a greater collaboration
February 13, 2020
At Vaccines Europe our thoughts are with all those affected by the recent outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Vaccines Europe, part of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), stands in support with the global community and the World Health Organization (WHO) to the current outbreak of COVID-19 acute respiratory disease.
Our industry welcomes the decision taken by the WHO to declare it as a public health emergency of international concern and believes the measures taken reflect the serious nature of this public health threat. Considering the public health and humanitarian implications, we are committed to joining global efforts to care for those affected, contain the outbreak and develop resources to tackle future outbreaks.
As a representative of major innovative research-based vaccine manufacturers in Europe, Vaccines Europe encourages greater exchange of information and dialogue with other stakeholders on how to address this important public health issue. Our members are actively contributing to research efforts to develop potential CoV vaccine candidates[1],[2],[3],[4],[5], [6], [7]. We believe that greater coordination could reduce inefficiencies, strengthen and accelerate efforts in identifying potential CoV vaccines. The list of COVID-19 vaccine candidates is available here.
Europe’s collaborative research community has responded to global health crises before. Through efforts such as the Innovative Medicines Initiative and other public-private partnerships[8], we advanced new Ebola vaccine candidates, and diagnostics, and developed new identification and compliance tools. Collaborating in this way has the potential to accelerate development of resources to tackle this outbreak. It enables networks of centres of excellence that can deliver real impact and create a preparedness infrastructure which can be mobilized for future outbreaks.
For more information please consult EFPIA[9] and IFPMA[10] websites.
[1] https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/resource-centre/our-contribution-to-the-fight-against-2019-ncov/
[2] https://www.jnj.com/coronavirus
[3] https://www.sanofi.com/en/about-us/our-stories/sanofi-s-response-in-the-fight-against-covid-19
[4] https://www.csl.com/news/2020/20200212-csl-media-statement-on-coronavirus
[8] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/global-health-ebola-cooperation
[9] https://www.efpia.eu/news-events/the-efpia-view/statements-press-releases/joining-the-fight-against-coronavirus/
[10] https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IFPMA-Members-involvement-in-countering-the-novel-coronavirus-2019-nCoV.pdf