Current Events > Finland had a patent-free vaccine nine months ago, still went with big pharma

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/02/finland-vaccine-covid-patent-ip

Excerpts:

Sakselas team has had a patent-free COVID-19 vaccine ready since May 2020, which they dubbed the Linux of vaccines in a nod to the famous open-source operating system that also originated from Finland. The work is based on publicly available research data and predicated on the principle of sharing all new findings in peer-reviewed journals.
The research team includes some of Finlands scientific heavyweights, such as Academy professor Seppo Yl-Herttuala of the A. I. Virtanen Institute, a former president of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, and academician Kari Alitalo, a foreign associated member of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. They believe their nasal spray, built on well-established technology and know-how, is safe and highly effective.
[...]
When it comes to COVID-19 specifically, the stalling impact of the contemporary funding model is felt most acutely at the final stages: getting the finished product approved and into use. Whatever time was lost during the early days of the pandemic due to lack of collaboration and trade secrets, virologist Saksela points out, is relatively insignificant. In fact, the development of all first-generation COVID-19 shots has been straightforward.
The background research was finished in an afternoon, which then set the direction for all of them, Saksela says. Based on what we already know about SARS-1 and MERS, it was all quite obvious not some triumph of science. Instead of introducing an inactivated or weakened germ into the human body, the new coronavirus shots train our immune system to respond to a spike protein in itself, harmless which forms the characteristic protrusions on the viruss surface.
The widely shared understanding of this mechanism predates the pharmaceutical companies contributions. This raises questions about the impact of patent-driven research on the end product. To what extent is the work guided by medical efficacy, and how much is based on the need to retain proprietary ownership?
Different biotech firms would slap the spike protein onto some type of delivery mechanism, whether it was RNA technology or something else, Saksela explains. And typically, the choice is based on what applications they have a patent on, whether its the best option or not.
The Finnish vaccine uses an adenovirus to carry the genetic instructions for synthesizing the spike protein. One of its practical advantages is that, unlike with RNA technology based on lipid nanoparticles, it can be stored in a regular fridge, potentially even at room temperature. This makes for easier and cheaper delivery logistics with no requirement for ultra-cold storage. Beyond its stability and the convenience of nasal administration, the vaccine may have other superior qualities to many currently on the market, Sakselas team believes. In order to fully stop the virus from spreading and to get rid of new mutations, we need to induce sterilizing immunity, meaning that the virus no longer replicates within the body of an otherwise healthy person. Preliminary trials seem to confirm that the nasal spray accomplishes this. With about half the people who are exposed, even if theyre symptomless, you find that the virus is still present in the upper respiratory system. So even if its on the way out, it still gets to run amok by the front door, making your immune system into a training partner of sorts.
[...]
And yet, when Ive tried to advocate for Finland to develop its own vaccine, this is the main argument Ive kept hearing: that you need to have an entity with broad enough shoulders to take on the risk, Saksela says. But thats all empty talk, turns out, since the companies are demanding, and receiving, freedom from any liability.

tl;dr:

• Finnish scientists developed a patent free vaccine
• This is possible because the mechanism of the vaccine is well known, what's proprietary is the delivery mechanism
• This is why some vaccines need to be stored at super cold temperatures - because the manufacturers went with the delivery mechanism that would make them money
• Clinical trials would cost around ~50 millions, yet governments would rather give billions to companies who then try to fleece consumers

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disgusting
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The relationship between state and capital exemplified with utmost clarity

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Bump

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Angry Karl marx noises

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so who would manufacture the patent free vaccine again?

the actual problem with going for a patent free vaccine is that no pharma company will dedicate their manufacturing line to it, because they're a business and they want money and patent free = less money.

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Pharma is such a leech

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monkmith posted...

so who would manufacture the patent free vaccine again?

the actual problem with going for a patent free vaccine is that no pharma company will dedicate their manufacturing line to it, because they're a business and they want money and patent free = less money.

Well if that's truly the case, maybe countries should unionize in some way so they are in a better bargaining position, in lieu of developing their own manufacturing lines.

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So this one prevents the virus from replicating while the others dont?

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scar the 1 posted...

Well if that's truly the case, maybe countries should unionize in some way so they are in a better bargaining position, in lieu of developing their own manufacturing lines.

sure, but that's not something that happens over night. the only way we were going to get a vaccine in a timely manner was to work through big pharma since they're the ones that control the production, the alternative would have been a few years of legislating instead of vaccine production, or just the government seizing the production facilities; neither of which would have ended well.

but here's the thing. a patent free vaccine still has significant use now. covid isn't going away, its going to become a seasonal virus like the flu, so vaccine production is going to have to continue for the foreseeable future. but with a patent free vaccine and a few years of time to build production you could easily see smaller companies step up.

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monkmith posted...

so who would manufacture the patent free vaccine again?

The same companies that manufactory generic drugs.

King_Hellebuyck posted...

So this one prevents the virus from replicating while the others dont?

that's what the article claims, but they dont list the study they draw that claim from and i'm guessing since its a poorly funded patent free vaccine it was a small one and might not be reliable. it doesn't make much sense, seeing that while the delivery mechanism is different the end result, immune response to the spike protein, is the same.

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JE19426 posted...

The same companies that manufactory generic drugs.

yes i'm sure the wal-letin production line can be swapped over to producing live viral cultures...

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I'm sure jacobin has an objective take on this story

monkmith posted...

yes i'm sure the wal-letin production line can be swapped over to producing live viral cultures...

Damn, if only they were multi-billion dollar companies able to build new production lines, oh wait they are. Also the vaccine doesn't use live viral cultures.

JE19426 posted...

Damn, if only they were multi-billion dollar companies able to build new production lines,

so what you're saying is they should have just waited a year for them to build said lines? that's a worse solution the the trump administrations...

JE19426 posted...

Also the vaccine doesn't use live viral cultures.

The Finnish vaccine uses an adenovirus to carry the genetic instructions for synthesizing the spike protein.

https://www.futurity.org/mrna-vaccines-adenovirus-covid-19-2489252/

please read up on the subject before you correct me about this thanks.

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Guillotines are the only answer here.

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monkmith posted...

so what you're saying is they should have just waited a year for them to build said lines?

Nope.

that's a worse solution the the trump administrations...

What the hell does the Trump administration have to do with this? Are you seriously trolling or something?

Even if we are to buy the premise that we are at the complete mercy of big pharma (which I'm not necessarily buying), I don't think it changes much. If anything, it's an even stronger indication that things need to change.

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