Executives from three of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing companies said Wednesday that they are racing hand-in-hand to get a viable vaccine for COVID-19 out to the world by next year. 

They all said there has been “unprecedented” international cooperation to develop a vaccine. They also explained why it could come sooner than any other in history. 

“We want to have more than one vaccine. We want to have several vaccines that are approved so there are options and there are opportunities for everyone around the world to get vaccinated,” said Joaquin Duato, vice chairman of the Executive Committee for Johnson & Johnson. 

Duato was joined by the chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, and the CEO of Sanofi, Paul Hudson, who spoke during a virtual town hall Wednesday to update the world on their progress. 

The forum was hosted by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which represents America’s leading biopharmaceutical research companies.

Of the 1,227 active clinical trials underway to fight the coronavirus, almost half — 47 percent — are using PhRMA member products, said Stephen Ubl, president and chief executive of PhRMA who moderated the event. Of those, there are in clinical trials and 135 vaccines in clinical studies. 

Optimism about having a vaccine by 2021

At the town hall, the executives said their companies are working “24/7” to find treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus. They’re moving to human clinical trials as early as this month. 

Everything has been moving at breakneck speed to find a solution, Hudson said. In a matter of months, the international community has mobilized an effort that normally would take 10 years.  

“We’re now going again to set new records in less than a year,” Hudson said.  

The executives are optimistic their companies can create a viable vaccine, or at the least, more treatments to aid patients’ recovery by next year. A number of therapies are promising including anticoagulants, fusion proteins and antibodies. 

In the meantime, the companies are preparing to or have submitted approval from regulatory agencies like the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to manufacture hundreds of millions, and possibly billions of doses, ahead of time to prepare for the hope that one or more of the human clinical trials will succeed.     

They emphasized four key points:

Affordability for all

All three company executives stated emphatically that their mission is to put patients’ health first. That means the vaccine must be affordable and available for all, in both developed and developing nations. 

“We are committed to provide a vaccine for emergency pandemic use and on a not-for-profit basis to make sure price is not a barrier for anybody,’’ Duato said.

If patients and communities can be taken care of, then shareholder profits and economies will follow, he said. 

A vaccine can be developed more quickly today  

There are a number of factors helping their mission move at record speed, they said.

One is the unprecedented sharing of research and results. The industry is expanding and sharing vast global libraries to try to repurpose existing therapies and develop new ones.

“There are multiple vaccines out there. I wish success to all of them,” Bourla said. “This is not a competition among us. This is a competition against the virus.” 

New vaccine platform technologies is another reason companies are able to move at a faster pace. They can utilize the same building blocks to make different vaccines, and have proven particularly useful in vaccines that utilize genetic DNA and RNA. 

Finally, the government is also setting a precedent to speed up the process. The FDA released new June 30 to fast track treatments that are proven safe in trials. 

President Donald Trump’s newaims to deliver 300 million doses of a safe, effective vaccine by January as part of the strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. 

Major public and private agencies, as well as public funding, are contributing to the effort.  

Clinical trials to include adults, diverse groups 

As the companies begin human clinical trials this month, testing and development of a vaccine will pull from diverse populations for clinical trial participants, including people of color, the elderly and people with underlying conditions. Clinical trials are now signing up participants, both with and without the virus. 

Once a vaccine is approved, the FDA and other regulatory bodies will determine who receives it first. It likely will appear in batches to be distributed to front-line health care workers and those at highest risk including the elderly and people with underlying conditions.

Centuries of experience should pay off 

With hundreds of years of experience, a vast amount of resources between the three corporations, there is hope one can succeed.  

“We have a significant amount of resources in science and manufacturing,” Bourla said. “If we put it to work, we can find a solution. If not us, who?” 

Biopharma supports 120,000 high wage manufacturing jobs

In Arizona, the biopharma industry is a major contributor to the economy with an estimated annual impact of around $9.1 billion. Since 2000, member companies of PhRMA have invested more than half a trillion dollars in the search for new treatments and cures, including an estimated $58.8 billion in 2015 alone, according to PhRMA.

Across the U.S., the biopharmaceutical sector directly employs more than 854,000 Americans, and invests more than $90 billion in research and development every year — more than any other industry in America. 

Because of its large supply chain, the biopharmaceutical industry supports more than 4 million jobs across the U.S. 

It also is becoming a larger force in manufacturing, according to PhRMA.The industry supports nearly 120,000 high-wage manufacturing jobs. In 2017, wages for biopharmaceutical manufacturing jobs were 72 percent greater than the average wage for all U.S. manufacturing jobs.

To read more about PhRMA and its members, go to: .

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SpotRx wants to introduce the future of pharmacy using its automated pharmaceutical kiosks, and southern Arizona is the starting line.

SpotRx, a subsidiary of MedAvail Technologies that launched in 2018, recently partnered with Green Valley Recreation, a chain of community centers in southern Arizona. The businesses are placing SpotRx pharmaceutical kiosks in three of 13 GVR member centers.

These “souped-up vending machines” allow users to pick up over-the-counter and prescription medications, transfer a prescription or consult a doctor or pharmacist electronically.

SpotRx already has one kiosk in the CareMore health clinic in Green Valley and four kiosks in downtown Tucson, as well as a brick-and-mortar location in each Phoenix and Tucson.

“What we’re trying to do is offer access,” said Will Misloski, SpotRx chief marketing officer. “And that’s one of the things GVR wanted to be able to provide is that access and convenience for their members. And so, through discussions, it’s just something that seemed like a good fit, to partner together and be able to offer this service to GVR members.”

Green Valley, a census-designated area near Tucson, is largely populated by retirees, but the community is “very active,” Misloski said.

“They’re trying to stay healthy; they want to have an active lifestyle,” he said. “We want to be able to give them access to their medications.”

GVR is an “essential part” of the community in Green Valley, and the majority of homeowners’ associations in the area are involved with GVR as well, making the member centers a convenient location for SpotRx kiosks, Misloski said.

“Our members might start their days with yoga, followed by a ceramics class or game of pinochle, and then maybe they play a few matches of pickleball before lunch,” said Miles Waterbury, communications specialist and fitness coordinator at GVR. “Our members lead busy lives and will benefit from easy access to hundreds of over-the-counter and prescription medications SpotRx stocks in its kiosks.”

Aside from health care services, prescription drugs are what keep people healthy, Misloski said.

“When you look at SpotRx, our service is really two things: kiosks and free home delivery,” he said. “The majority of our business is the kiosk, but what that kiosk does, what our service does, is it provides access.”

Misloski said his research — which is always ongoing, as he often visits the communities SpotRx is a part of — has told him that many people do not enjoy their pharmacy experience. Customers often complain of long wait times and sub-par customer service at typical big-box pharmacies, he said.

“The current pharmacy experience doesn’t put the control into the consumer’s hands,” Misloski said. “When I think about what we’re building and what we’re allowing consumers, we’re putting the pharmacy experience in the consumer’s hands. We’re letting them get their prescription drugs when and where they want it.”

SpotRx is a disruptor in the health care industry, he said: “Look what Netflix did to Blockbuster, or look what Uber is doing to the taxi industry.”

Consumer choice is a top priority in many different areas of retail today, and what SpotRx really wants to do is give people options, Misloski said. The pharmaceutical kiosks are the “core differentiator” for the business, but home delivery and in-person pharmacies play a key role, too, he said.

“When we built our pharmacies — our pharmacy in Phoenix and our pharmacy in Tucson — they weren’t built to be consumer-facing at all,” Misloski said. “But they’re full pharmacies. They have pharmacists; they have technicians. We have patients who come into our pharmacies. They want that pharmacy experience.”

In addition to convenience and access, SpotRx wants to bring back the “hometown pharmacy feel” that seems long-gone, he said.

“What we allow our pharmacists to do is spend time with patients,” Misloski said. “If the patient has questions on the phone or at the kiosk, or even when a patient comes in, we allow our pharmacists to spend as much time as the patient needs to make sure the patient understands, or their medication’s being managed.”

Another unique feature of the SpotRx kiosks is that people can use them with or without insurance. If a customer does not have insurance, or if medications are not covered, they can still save up to 80 percent on a product, according to SpotRx.

“I love our business,” Misloski said. “We’re building a business, but at the end of the day, when I think about what we’re really providing and the way we provide it, our core value… is caring.”

Misloski said he is in Green Valley often and has heard a lot of positive feedback about the SpotRx kiosks.

“SpotRx is grateful for the partnership and support from Green Valley Recreation Inc. and the community,” said Ed Kilroy, CEO of MedAvail Technologies. “We look forward to continued expansion of our new way to pharmacy.”

Misloski said the SpotRx team in Arizona is excited and driven to make a difference in people’s lives.

“They’re seeing the difference it’s making in people’s lives and helping them stay adherent to their medicine, and it’s been a cool thing,” he said.

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Photo by user on Flickr.

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