Latest news with #Pfizer-BioNTech
a day ago
- Health
Trump previously called mRNA vaccines a 'medical miracle.' Now, RFK Jr. cut $500M in funding
When the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2020, President Donald Trump referred to it as a "medical miracle." "This is one of the greatest scientific accomplishments in history. It will save millions of lives and soon end the pandemic once and for all," Trump said at the time in a speech delivered from the Oval Office. COVID-19 vaccines, made with mRNA technology, were quickly rolled out with then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar referring to the vaccine as "safe and extraordinarily effective." However, last week, current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the government was canceling at least $500 million of federally funded mRNA vaccine development, potentially affecting U.S. preparedness for future pandemics and squashing enthusiasm for technology that has been hailed as a potential promise for cancer and HIV vaccines. Public health experts told ABC News the position Kennedy and those in his circle have taken on mRNA vaccines is very different from how the technology was viewed in the Trump administration during the president's first term. "The president was absolutely right when he called mRNA vaccines a miracle," Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama administration, told ABC News. "It was absolutely miraculous that in under a year after a new infectious agent hit the world stage, we had multiple safe and highly effective vaccines to protect people. … What we have now is a situation where the Trump administration is backing away from mRNA technology," Besser said. "It is totally out of line with what the president was saying during his first term, and it flies in the face of what science and evidence have demonstrated." Praise for mRNA vaccines In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the majority of Americans were masking and following stay-at-home orders, the Trump administration launched Operation Warp Speed in May 2020. The goal of the public-private partnership, initiated by the U.S. government, was to help accelerate the development, testing, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. From more than 100 vaccine candidates, the government narrowed it down to fewer than 10 to receive funding for development and testing Although mRNA was discovered in 1961, breakthroughs in developing mRNA vaccines began in the early 2000s, eventually leading to the development of COVID-19 vaccines in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA technology demonstrated its ability to scale up vaccine production quickly, as seen with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Public health officials in the Trump administration expressed enthusiasm for the vaccines. Just before the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA, Azar referred to the shot as "exceptionally safe" and "shockingly effective." Meanwhile, then-Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams encouraged Americans to get vaccinated, saying, "By golly, the finish line is in sight. So, we just got to keep on running. American people, we need you to keep on running." Additionally, in December 2020, during a virtual conversation hosted by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, then-CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield said the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were "extremely safe" and were a "light at the end of the tunnel." "It is no longer a scientific problem, but whether we can get the population vaccinated," he said at the time. "We're in a fight and what we need now is unity of spirit and to let data and science drive our actions." In a further show of support, several of the nation's top public health officials received a COVID-19 vaccine publicly to demonstrate its safety and effectiveness including Azar; Dr. Francis Collins, then-director of the National Institutes of Heath; Dr. Anthony Fauci, then-director of NIH's National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); and Colleen McGowan, director of NIH's Office of Research Services. Trump's public health officials continued to express support for Operation Warp Speed and mRNA technology even after leaving office. In December 2022, during a seminar at the University of Pennsylvania, Azar referred to Operation Warp Speed as "my biggest achievement at HHS and in my life." He explained how scientists in China posted a genetic sequence online of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on Jan. 10, 2020, and, three days later, NIAID scientists had developed a seed vaccine, a sample used as the starting material for vaccine production. "Then they partnered that with Moderna, with whom we had already been working with on mRNA technology for about a decade," Azar said. "We partnered with them and eight weeks later were in human trials. It was the fastest time in human history that a [pharmaceutical] product has moved from discovery to actual phase one human trials." Retreat from mRNA vaccines In Trump's second term, the nation's top public health officials seem to have a different opinion of mRNA vaccines. Kennedy had already been expressing vaccine-skeptic views before becoming health secretary. In May 2021, he filed a citizen petition asking for the federal government to revoke its authorization of all COVID-19 vaccines. In December 2021, during a Louisiana House of Representatives meeting discussing a proposal to require schoolchildren to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Kennedy falsely called the vaccine the "deadliest vaccine ever made." Since becoming health secretary, Kennedy made a series of moves, including announcing earlier this year that the COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be recommended for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. In a press release announcing the cancellation of mRNA vaccine funding, Kennedy said that funding was going towards "safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate," despite infectious disease experts and vaccinologists saying the mRNA platform is safe. Kennedy also falsely claimed mRNA vaccines can prolong pandemics. When asked about the cancellation of funding by reporters, Trump praised Operation Warp Speed but said it was "a long time ago, and we're onto other things" and that the administration is "looking for other answers to other problems, to other sicknesses and diseases." Additionally, over the weekend, during an appearance on Steve Bannon's podcast "War Room," NIH director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said Kennedy decided to cancel mRNA vaccine contracts because "the mRNA platform is no longer viable." He also claimed a large fraction of the public doesn't trust the platform for vaccines. Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice at Brown University School of Public Health, said it seems strange that Operation Warp Speed no longer gets the praise it once received during Trump's first term. "I find it so remarkable that really the biggest accomplishment of the end of Trump's first term in office … namely the creation of Operation Warp Speed in the mRNA vaccines is something that this administration truly never talks about," Spencer told ABC News. "The second Trump administration never talks about. In fact, he somehow went from leaving office as the person that helped create Operation Warp Speed, saving millions of lives in the U.S. and tens of millions of lives, if not more, around the world, to putting in place someone who is an ardent vaccine cynic." Some public health officials from Trump's first term have since flipped their stance on vaccines. Redfield, the former CDC director, said in a POLITICO event earlier this year that in his practice, he's seen patients with "very serious long-term consequences from the mRNA vaccines." Others condemned Kennedy's decision to cut mRNA funding. Former U.S. Surgeon General Adams calling it "dangerous" and saying that risks "far outweigh rare side effects." Spencer said there is a difference in the way that Adams speaks about vaccines compared to Trump's current nominee for U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, a prominent voice in Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" movement. Means has not made a public statement on Kennedy's recent decision, but she has expressed skepticism about the safety of childhood vaccines and has called for more research on the "safety of the cumulative effects" of vaccines. "Jerome Adams probably knows the difference between what [COVID] looks like at the clinical level because he is someone that has practiced as an anesthesiologist, has seen the sickest patients and continues to practice," he told ABC News. "He knows, as a practicing physician, what this will mean, as opposed to sharing viewpoints from a book about wellness and anti-vaccine views." "I have not seen the new Surgeon General take a perspective on what has been taking place around vaccination," Besser added. "I would hope that she would do what's right by the American people and encourage people to be vaccinated fully and on time."
UPI
4 days ago
- UPI
Georgia officials identify gunman in shooting near CDC, Emory University
Police identified the suspected gunman an attack that killed a police officer near the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Roybal Campus on Clifton Road in Atlanta. Photo by CDC Newsroom Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The suspected gunman in the attack that killed a police officer near the Emory University campus and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's headquarters was identified Saturday morning. One day after the shooting on Friday night, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Patrick Joseph White, 30, of Kennesaw, Ga., was the killer. WXIA-TV posted video from outside the home of the suspected shooter on Friday night where there was crime scene tape. GBI is the lead investigator, and has been working with the Atlanta, DeKalb County and Emory police, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Emory, with an enrollment of 5,727, was on lockdown for a few hours, while the CDC had a shelter in place order at its Roybal Campus until the late evening. The school said Saturday there will be increased police presence throughout the weekend. David Rose, a 33-year-old police officer for the DeKalb department, died while responding to the shooting. Rose, who joined the department in September and was a retired U.S. Marine, had two children with his wife, who is pregnant. "This officer responded to the call as he did, as he was trained to do, and during that incident he received gunfire and he lost his life in this incident," interim Police Chief Gregory Padrick said. "He was committed to serving the community. It's a noble profession we all do. We answer the call to serve our community and he gave his life with a commitment to serve others." Rose was the only person shot during the attack, which started just before 5 p.m. at the Emory Point CVS drugstore on Clifton Road. White was found dead from a gunshot wound on the second floor. It wasn't disclosed whether he was shot by law enforcement or whether it was self-inflicted. The shooting occurred across the street from the CDC campus, where there were bullet holes in windows and shattered glass on the floor. Some rounds of ammunition also flew just above office cubicles. CDC Director Susan Monerez told employees to work remotely while a "security assessment" is conducted at the campus. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Friday the suspect was "known to have some interest in certain things that I can't reiterate right now with any confidence until the investigation is fully conducted." CNN reported the shooter was upset about health problems blamed on the Covid-19 vaccine recommended by the CDC and approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2020 with Emergency Use Authorization and full approval for certain ages in 2021 for Pfizer-BioNTech and in 2022 for Moderna.
Economic Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
GSK set to get $500 million from settlement of mRNA lawsuit
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel CureVac NV has settled a long-running patent dispute over mRNA vaccines with Pfizer and BioNTech SE in the US, which will see CureVac's former collaborator GSK receive as much as $500 million and 1% of royalties from future vaccine settlement comes as BioNTech looks to close the purchase of its former rival CureVac for about $1.25 billion. GSK will receive $370 million upfront, with another $130 million on the closing of the the wake of the race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, drugmakers launched multiple lawsuits against one another over alleged patent infringement. The litigation has spanned across Europe and the US, pitting rival vaccine manufacturers against one another in the worked with CureVac to develop Covid-19 vaccines but they failed, losing out to quicker, nimbler rivals. Last year, the two companies restructured their collaboration, with GSK paying CureVac up to $1.4 billion for the full rights to mRNA flu and Covid-19 vaccines it was developing with the German will also receive 1% on royalties of future Pfizer-BioNTech sales of flu, Covid-19 and related combination mRNA vaccines in the US. Once BioNTech completes the purchase of CureVac, GSK will also receive 1% of royalties from future sales outside the the settlement ends CureVac's litigation with Pfizer and BioNTech, it doesn't mean the same for GSK. The British drugmaker said it will continue its litigation against BioNTech and Pfizer for what it alleges is infringement of its patents.
RTHK
5 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
Settlement reached over Covid-19 vaccines
Settlement reached over Covid-19 vaccines The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first mRNA vaccine approved for use and the first Covid vaccine to receive approval in the West. File photo: RTHK American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech will pay Britain's GSK and Germany's CureVac US$740 million plus royalties to settle US legal disputes over Covid-19 vaccines, CureVac said on Friday. The royalties would amount to a "single-digit" percentage on sales of Covid-19 vaccines in the United States, CureVac said. The German firm added that it would grant Pfizer and BioNTech the non-exclusive licence to make and sell mRNA-based Covid and flu products in the United States. GSK, which has worked with CureVac since 2020 to develop mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases, said that it would receive US$370 million as well as a 1 percent royalty on US sales of flu, Covid and "related combination mRNA vaccine products". CureVac sued German rival BioNTech in 2022, arguing that it had infringed patents relating to mRNA technology in making its blockbuster Comirnaty coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with Pfizer. Unlike traditional vaccines that contain some form of the dead or inactivated target virus, mRNA vaccines contain genetic materials that instruct human cells to make proteins typical of the targeted virus. Since the virus need not be grown in the lab, mRNA vaccines can in theory be developed at scale more quickly than conventional vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first mRNA vaccine approved for use and the first Covid vaccine to receive approval in the West. CureVac's own efforts to make an mRNA-based Covid vaccine during the pandemic did not come to fruition. The deal brings the dispute between CureVac and BionNTech to an end ahead of the planned acquisition of CureVac by BioNTech, announced in June. CureVac and BioNTech are still locked in legal disputes in Germany but CureVac said the deal "set a framework for resolving ongoing patent disputes outside the US". In March, a German court sided with American pharmaceutical firm Moderna in its claim that BioNTech and Pfizer had broken one of its patents in making its Covid-19 vaccine. (AFP)
Axios
7 days ago
- Health
- Axios
What to know about mRNA vaccines as Trump admin pulls funding
The Trump administration is decreasing funding for the development of mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines, which were crucial in the response to COVID-19. Why it matters: mRNA vaccines are a public health tool to mitigating future pandemic-like situations, as researchers can move fast at a lower cost than other vaccine systems. "mRNA vaccines use a genetic code to tell the body's cells to produce proteins that train the immune system," a Penn Medicine report said. "The result: 'plug-and-play' vaccines with rapid development times and lower costs." Driving the news: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that the government would pull $500 million in mRNA vaccine development funding in order to focus on "safer, broader vaccine platforms." No new mRNA based projects will be initiated, HHS said. Some final-stage contracts for targets like pandemic bird flu will run their course. What they're saying: " I've tried to be objective & non-alarmist in response to current HHS actions — but quite frankly this move is going to cost lives," Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general during President Trump's first administration, said on X. "It's rhetoric of wellness ideologues who deny the benefits of mRNA vaccine technology in saving 3.2 million American lives in the pandemic," Peter Hotez, Baylor College of Medicine vaccine researcher, said on X. "Also in my view it's [a] slap in the face for President Trump, given this is one of his best achievements." What are mRNA vaccines? How do they work? The big picture: mRNA vaccines use a molecule necessary for protein production, called messenger RNA, rather than part of an actual bacteria or virus, according to the National Library of Medicine. mRNA vaccines introduce a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein, prompting cells to produce the viral protein. People who get an mRNA vaccine are not exposed to the virus, nor can they become infected with a virus by the vaccine. Flashback: mRNA was discovered in the early 1960s, and research into how it could be delivered into cells was developed in the 1970s, per Johns Hopkins ' Bloomberg School of Public Health. The intrigue: The biggest challenge with mRNA was that it was taken up by the body and quickly degraded before it could "deliver" the RNA transcript and be read into proteins in the cells. Advances in nanotechnology allowed for fatty droplets, or lipid nanoparticles, to wrap the mRNA like a bubble and allowed entry into the cells. Didn't the COVID vaccine use mRNA? State of play: The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID vaccines use mRNA. "Thanks to decades of research and innovation, mRNA vaccine technology was ready," the Johns Hopkins report said. "With COVID, this technology got its moment and has proven to be extremely safe and effective." Context: The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine gives cells instructions for how to make the S protein found on the surface of the virus, according to Mayo Clinic. The body creates antibodies that help clear the virus, if caught. What else could mRNA vaccines help protect against? Zoom out: Researchers at Penn Medicine are developing mRNA vaccines for infections including avian bird flu, all coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS, C. difficile, genital herpes, hepatitis C, HIV, influenza, leptospirosis, malaria, norovirus and tuberculosis. Moderna has mRNA vaccines in various levels of development to fend against RSV, HIV, Lyme disease, Mpox, several cancers and cystic fibrosis. What we're watching: As of January, more than 120 clinical trials were testing the potential for mRNA vaccines in cancer treatment across various malignancies, according to research published in the National Library of Medicine.
