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Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna making US$1,000 profit every second while world’s poorest countries remain largely unvaccinated

November 16, 2021

Demand grows for firms to share vaccine recipes and technology as billionaire pharma bosses convene for ‘Big Pharma Davos’

New figures from the Peoples Vaccine Alliance reveal that the companies behind two of the most successful COVID vaccines – Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna – are making combined profits of US$65,000 (NZ$92,000) every minute. The figures based on the latest company reports are released as CEOs from pharmaceutical industry meet for the annual STAT summit – the equivalent of a ‘Big Pharma Davos’ – from 16 – 18 November.

These companies have sold the majority of doses to rich countries, leaving low income countries out in the cold. Pfizer and BioNTech have delivered less than one percent of their total vaccine supplies to low-income countries, while Moderna has delivered just 0.2 percent. Meanwhile 98 percent of people in low income countries have not been fully vaccinated.

Maaza Seyoum of the African Alliance and People’s Vaccine Alliance Africa said: “It is obscene that just a few companies are making millions of dollars in profit every single hour, while just two percent of people in low-income countries have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

“Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna have used their monopolies to prioritise the most profitable contracts with the richest governments, leaving low income countries out in the cold.”

Despite receiving public funding of over US$8 billion, the three corporations have refused calls to urgently transfer vaccine technology and know-how with capable producers in low- and middle-income countries via the World Health Organisation (WHO), a move that could increase global supply, drive down prices and save millions of lives. In Moderna’s case, this is despite explicit pressure from the White House and requests from the WHO that the company collaborate in and help accelerate its plan to replicate the Moderna vaccine for wider production at its mRNA hub in South Africa.

While Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, described the call to share vaccine recipes ‘dangerous nonsense,’ the WHO emergency use approval of the Indian vaccine Covaxin earlier this month is clear evidence that developing countries have the capacity and expertise.

Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s Health Policy Manager said: “Contrary to what Pfizer’s CEO says, the real nonsense is claiming the experience and expertise to develop and manufacture life-saving medicines and vaccines does not exist in developing countries. This is just a false excuse that pharmaceutical companies are hiding behind to protect their astronomical profits.

“It is also a complete failure of government to allow these companies to maintain monopoly control and artificially constrain supply in the midst of a pandemic while so many people in the world are yet to be vaccinated.”

Based on company financial statements, the Alliance estimates that Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna will make pre-tax profits of US$34 billion this year between them, which works out as over a thousand dollars a second, US$65,000 a minute or US$93.5 million a day. The monopolies these companies hold have produced five new billionaires during the pandemic, with a combined net wealth of US$35.1 billion.

The People’s Vaccine Alliance, which has 80 members including the African Alliance, Global Justice Now, Oxfam, and UNAIDS, is calling for the pharmaceutical corporations to immediately suspend intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines, tests, treatments, and other medical tools by agreeing to the proposed waiver of the TRIPS Agreement at the World Trade Organisation.

They are also calling on governments, including the United States, to use all their legal and policy tools to demand that pharmaceutical companies share COVID-19 data, know-how, and technology with the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool and South Africa mRNA Technology Transfer Hub.

More than 100 nations, led by South Africa and India – with the support of the US – have been calling for the TRIPS waiver, which also has the support of over 100 past and present world leaders and Nobel laureates.

Despite this, other rich nations, including the UK and Germany, are still blocking the proposal, putting the interest of pharmaceutical companies over what’s best for the world. This issue is set to dominate the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Summit to be held in Geneva from 30 November to 3 December.

Notes to editors:

A People’s Vaccine Alliance report from 21 October found that Moderna has only delivered 0.2 percent of their total vaccine supply to low-income countries and Pfizer/BioNTech has delivered less than 1
In their Q3 financial statement, Pfizer forecast US$36bn in vaccine revenue for 2021. Gross profit from the revenue is split 50/50 with BioNTech. Pfizer guidance for their income before tax (after splitting profit with BioNTech) is ‘High-20s as a Percentage of Revenues.’ A conservative 25% margin would bring Pfizer’s profit before tax to US$9bn in 2021 from the Comirnaty Covid vaccine.
In BioNTech’s Q3 financial statement they forecast €16-17 billion in vaccine revenue for 2021. In the 9 months ending September 30 the company made € 10.3bn profit before tax on €13.4bn, revenue giving a 77% profit margin. Using a conservative €16bn forecasted revenue for the full year, we therefore estimate that at a 77% profit margin, BioNTech will make €12.3bn in pre-tax profit in 2021 – or US$14.7bn using the 2021 average exchange rate.
Moderna’s Q3 profit before tax for 9 months ending September 30 is US$7.8bn on US$11.2bn revenue giving a pre-tax profit margin of 70%. The company projects full year 2021 sales to be “between US$15 billion and US$18 billion”. Using the lower end of the estimate – 70% of US$15bn is US$10.5bn in profit for 2021. The vaccine is Moderna’s only commercial product.
We therefore estimate the combined 2021 profit before tax for Moderna and Pfizer and BioNTech as US$34bn. There are 525600 minutes in a year giving US$ 64,961 profit before tax per minute or US$1,083 per second. Pre-tax, rather than net, profit is used as Pfizer only report the guidance for pre-tax profit margin.
One New Zealand dollar is worth approximately 70 US cents.

Oxfam: New Zealand must do more for PNG – urgently

November 16, 2021

Papua New Guinea faces a deadly pandemic of misinformation

In response to the New Zealand government sending a medical and logistics support team to Papua New Guinea (PNG) over the weekend, Oxfam Aotearoa says that while essential supplies and support is a good contribution, the government can, and must, do more.

Oxfam Aotearoa Communications and Advocacy Director Dr Jo Spratt said:

“Recently, we heard Hon. Minister Mahuta outline how Aotearoa would partner with Pacific countries to achieve resilience. Referring to our Pacific neighbours as family, the Minister recognised our deep and enduring whakapapa connections – Tātai Hono, and reiterated the importance of Tātou Tātou – all of us together. If there is any time to put these values into action, it is when one of our family members is experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis. This support from the government is a good start, but more needs to be done and urgently.”

Oxfam Papua New Guinea Country Director Eunice Wotene says that as the third coronavirus wave escalates out of control in the country, people are experiencing a lot of challenges. There are multiple issues over Covid-19 vaccinations, lockdowns, and an overwhelmed health system further perpetuating an already stressful situation.

In an effort to control the outbreak, the PNG government has put in place control measures banning gatherings of more than 20 people and encouraging the general public to follow the “Niupela Pasin” (new normal). Provincial Controllers like that of the Eastern Highland Province have implemented travel restrictions across the borders between districts. Wotene says that control measures implemented at the provincial level have helped reduce the spread of infection and has resulted in a reduction in the number of cases presenting at the hospital. However, this has also caused challenges and restricted people from getting to vaccination centres. It has also created economic challenges for people because they can’t get to markets, sell their produce, and earn an income to sustain themselves. This has, in turn, led to an increase in other social issues like petty crimes.

Thousands of doses of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been coming into PNG from neighbouring countries, but despite the large number of vaccines, PNG is struggling to get its vaccination rates above 9 per cent. Wotene says that while vaccines are welcome and needed, people are either misinformed about the risks, or unable to get vaccines:

“The situation is complicated. Many of our people live in remote rural villages. Information and vaccines aren’t reaching them, and travel restrictions between district borders make things difficult. For some people, even if they could make it to a clinic, they aren’t going because of the misinformation out there about the vaccines’ side-effects. There is a real sense of urgency now that we must do all we can to reach these people.

“In some villages, two or more family members have died from Covid-19, just days or weeks apart. We have a health system overcome with sick people and our people are dying.”

Local and international media recently reported that due to Port Moresby morgues being overwhelmed with the dead, PNG authorities had no choice but to approve mass burial.

New World Bank research, titled Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy: Survey and Experimental Evidence from Papua New Guinea, examined the motivation behind vaccine hesitancy in Papua New Guinea and tested various means of increasing people’s willingness to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. The report found that one of the main hurdles for Papua New Guineans was the fear of the vaccine itself. However, people’s replies also indicated they were open to learning more, particularly if information came from health workers. The research showed that when people were given basic information on the safety of the vaccine and the dangers of Covid-19 that increased the percentage of people who said they were willing to be vaccinated.

Wotene said: “We need health workers to go to the people to provide useful and factual information and help ease their fears. There is also need for mobile clinics where people from the rural communities can be reached for vaccination.”

Dr Spratt said: “In addition to the recent support and supplies, the NZ government should send new emergency funding to support the PNG government and other development partners to rapidly roll-out vaccine information campaigns across the country. This could be done through village health workers, local radio stations and other locally-appropriate communication methods.

“New Zealand still has millions of spare AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines that we are not using here. We can and should donate these to PNG.”

Ends

Notes:

See the full report Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy: Survey and Experimental Evidence from Papua New Guinea

Pfizer voluntarily licenses oral Covid treatment

November 16, 2021

In reaction to Pfizer’s announcement of voluntary licenses of its COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid to the Medicines Patent Pool, People’s Vaccine Alliance spokesperson and Oxfam America’s Senior Advocacy Advisor, Robbie Silverman, said:

“Pfizer’s announcement to voluntarily licence the COVID treatment Paxlovid is welcome but is far from enough. It means billions of people in developing countries will be able to access the treatment through generic production, but billions of people will still be left without as the deal excludes many developing countries like Iraq and Lebanon.

“This move also begs the important question: If Pfizer can share data and intellectual property on a medicine, why have they so far categorically refused to do so for their COVID vaccine? Perhaps the answer is in the profit they continue to reap thanks to their monopoly, hundreds of dollars every single second.

“Today’s licensing agreement shows that Pfizer is feeling the pressure from global campaigners. But it is clear that relying on the voluntary actions of pharmaceutical companies alone will not secure urgently needed access to tests, medicines and vaccines for everyone, everywhere. Only concerted action by governments to force them to share technology, know-how, and intellectual property will achieve this.

“All governments must move to immediately support the proposal of South Africa and India at the World Trade Organisation for a temporary waiver on all COVID-19 medical technologies and they must also insist on the mandatory transfer of vaccine technology to the many competent manufacturers all over the developing world who stand ready to produce the vaccines.”

Oxfam’s verdict on the COP26 outcome

November 15, 2021

Gabriela Bucher, Oxfam International Executive Director said:

“Clearly some world leaders think they aren’t living on the same planet as the rest of us. It seems no amount of fires, rising sea levels or droughts will bring them to their senses to stop increasing emissions at the expense of humanity.

“Punishing, extreme weather is already wrecking the lives of the most vulnerable. People are barely clinging on, having little resources to cope with the constant threat of losing all that they own. The world’s poorest have done the least to cause the climate emergency, yet are the ones left struggling to survive while also footing the bill.

“The request to strengthen 2030 reduction targets by next year is an important step. The work starts now. Big emitters, especially rich countries, must heed the call and align their targets to give us the best possible chance of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach. Despite years of talks, emissions continue to rise, and we are dangerously close to losing this race against time.

“Developing countries, representing over 6 billion people, put forward a loss and damage finance facility to build back in the aftermath of extreme weather events linked to climate change. Not only did rich countries block this, all they would agree to is limited funding for technical assistance and a ‘dialogue’. This derisory outcome is tone deaf to the suffering of millions of people both now and in the future.

“For the first time, a goal for adaptation finance was agreed. The commitment to double is below what developing countries asked for and need, but if realised it will increase support to developing countries by billions.

“It’s painful that diplomatic efforts have once more failed to meet the scale of this crisis. But we should draw strength from the growing movement of people around the world challenging and holding our governments to account for everything we hold dear. A better world is possible. With creativity, with bravery, we can and must hold onto that belief.”

Oxfam reaction to AstraZeneca’s plan to take profits from the Covid vaccine

November 12, 2021

In response to the announcement that AstraZeneca is to move away from the non-profit model for COVID vaccines, Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s Health Policy Manager and spokesperson for the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said:

“AstraZeneca is breaking its repeated and celebrated public promises of a non-profit vaccine for all countries for the duration of this pandemic and to never to make a profit in any low- and middle-income country from this publicly funded vaccine. It is turning its back on these commitments at a time when the pandemic still rages and 98 per cent of people in the poorest countries are not yet fully vaccinated.

“While AstraZeneca has said the vaccine will remain non-profit for developing nations, we understand that 75 middle-income countries including Indonesia, The Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe are excluded from their commitment. AstraZeneca must immediately and unequivocally confirm that it will not profit from any sales of the vaccine for any low or middle-income country whether via bilateral deals or COVAX.

“With the number of people dying from COVID-19 rapidly rising above five million and given the development of this vaccine was 97 per cent funded by taxpayers and charities there can be no justification for this decision.

“It is time for the Oxford University to partner with the World Health Organisation so that this life-saving publicly funded vaccine technology can be shared as a global public good and produced by as many capable manufacturers around the world as possible.

“Broken promises from pharmaceutical corporations and rich country governments have been an enduring theme of this pandemic when it comes to vaccine access. This is a further example of why the UK government can no longer defend the pharmaceutical monopolies driving today’s vaccine apartheid. It must immediately join over 100 countries including President Biden in supporting a temporary suspension of intellectual property for Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments so that everybody can be protected.”

Oxfam reaction to the first anniversary of the collapse of the ceasefire on Western Sahara

November 12, 2021

One year since the collapse of the 29-year ceasefire between the Frente Polisario and Morocco, Oxfam calls on all parties to create momentum to resume peace talks as soon as possible. The most recent escalation of violence in Western Sahara threatens regional stability, and will have devastating consequences for Sahrawi refugees, who have been stranded in camps in the Algerian desert for over 45 years.

Oxfam welcomes the long overdue appointment of the new UN Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura; it must be a catalyst for de-escalation. Oxfam calls on the international community to give meaningful support for the UN-led peace process with the voices of civil society, in particular those of women, youth and other marginalised groups firmly at the centre.

By renewing MINURSO’s mandate, the UNSC reaffirms its commitment to a just, sustainable and mutually acceptable political solution, which will ensure the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara[1] in line with international law, supported by multiple resolutions passed by the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly.

Oxfam in Algeria has operated in the Sahrawi refugee camps alongside local partner organizations since the start of the crisis in 1975. Every day we see how communities are suffering and losing hope for their future while the efforts for an inclusive, sustainable peace have failed. Today, 94 per cent of the over 173,000 Sahrawi refugees[2] are dependent on humanitarian aid to meet basic needs such as food, water and shelter. Malnutrition rates are climbing, with food security a reality for only 12 per cent of households. This is a critical moment for the international community to stand with Sahrawi refugees and ensure that their rights, dignity and futures are protected after failing them for far too long.

[1] Resolution 2602 (2021) adopted by the Security Council at its 8890th meeting, on 29 October 2021 https://undocs.org/en/S/RES/2602(2021)

[2] WFP, Food Security Assessment for Sahrawi refugees, 2018 https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000103413/download/