The world soon may face a coronavirus pandemic. We desperately need a vaccine. Guess who’s driving the vaccine research? (Hint: It’s not Big Pharma.) The bulk of funding for coronavirus research over the past decade has come from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). If the public is going to pay for a coronavirus vaccine, then the government must make sure it is affordable and accessible around the world. Tell the Trump administration: No exclusive licensing deals for a coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine should be available to any manufacturer that can produce a quality product – and commit to reasonable pricing. Since the SARS outbreak in 2002, the U.S. government has devoted nearly $700 million of our tax dollars on coronavirus research, vastly outdistancing what private companies have spent on their own. It turns out that the monopoly-based patent system – which Big Pharma says is crucial to incentivize innovation – doesn’t inspire much work on public health priorities like vaccines and infectious diseases. We certainly shouldn’t grant a drug company a monopoly AFTER public funding has already paid to develop a vaccine. That’s an invitation not just for price gouging, but for limiting access – and potentially undermining the effort to forestall a pandemic. Tell the Trump administration: No coronavirus vaccine monopolies. The stakes are far too high to let industry profiteering interfere with public health. Onward,
Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen | 
