EU Deal Allows AstraZeneca Partial Immunity Over Vaccine Side-Effects

Reuters: Exclusive: AstraZeneca Gets Partial Immunity In Low-Cost EU Vaccine Deal 
European governments will pay claims above an agreed limit against AstraZeneca over side-effects from its potential COVID-19 vaccine, under different terms to a deal struck with Sanofi, an EU official told Reuters. The deals reflect different strategies by two of the world’s top drugmakers for protecting themselves as a debate rages about liabilities for vaccines aimed at ending the pandemic. AstraZeneca has secured the European Union’s backing in a confidential agreement which reflects the lower price sought by the British drugmaker, the official said. (Guarascio, 9/25)

CNBC: AstraZeneca Gets Partial Immunity In Low-Cost EU Vaccine Deal
European governments will pay claims above an agreed limit against AstraZeneca over side-effects from its potential COVID-19 vaccine, under different terms to a deal struck with Sanofi, an EU official toldReuters. The deals reflect different strategies by two of the world’s top drugmakers for protecting themselves as a debate rages about liabilities for vaccines aimed at ending the pandemic. AstraZeneca has secured the European Union’s backing in a confidential agreement which reflects the lower price sought by the British drugmaker, the official said. “If a company asks for a higher price we don’t give the same conditions,” said the official, who was involved in the talks but declined to be identified as the contracts are confidential. (9/25)

In other vaccine news —

The New York Times: Novavax Enters Final Stage Of Coronavirus Vaccine Trials 
The vaccine maker Novavax said Thursday that it would begin the final stages of testing its coronavirus vaccine in the United Kingdom and that another large trial was scheduled to begin next month in the United States. It is the fifth late-stage trial from a company supported by Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to speed a coronavirus vaccine to market, and one of 11 worldwide to reach this pivotal stage. Novavax, a Maryland company that has never brought a vaccine to market, reached a $1.6 billion deal with the federal government in July to develop and manufacture its experimental vaccine, which has shown robust results in early clinical trials. (Thomas and Zimmer, 9/24)

CNBC: Sanofi Isn’t Cutting Corners In Coronavirus Vaccine Development Despite Acceleration, CEO Says
Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson told CNBC on Thursday that the pharmaceutical company is not cutting any corners in its pursuit of developing a coronavirus vaccine. “We have been making vaccines for over 100 years. We haven’t changed anything in the way we do things, we’ve just accelerated,” Hudson said in an interview with Jim Cramer on “Mad Money.” “We need to be there. We need to be safe and effective.” (Stankiewicz, 9/24)

Stat: In Groups Asked To Join Covid-19 Vaccine Trials, Concerns About Inequities Run Deep
While presenting the Covid-19 vaccine study she’s running, Susan Little was asked for a promise she didn’t have the power to make. A respected local politician refused to support the trials unless Little could ensure that the people of color being prioritized as volunteers would also be prioritized once an effective vaccine was approved. “They wanted some sort of guarantee that the communities we are asking to participate now are not left behind,” said Little, the infectious disease doctor leading the AstraZeneca vaccine trial at University of California, San Diego. (Boodman, 9/25)

The Hill: NY Health Officials To Review Any Vaccine Approved By Trump 
New York health officials will review any COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Trump administration, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Thursday, citing his distrust of the federal government. “Frankly, I’m not going to trust the federal government’s opinion, and I wouldn’t recommend to New Yorkers based on the federal government’s opinion,” Cuomo said at a press conference. (Hellmann, 9/24)

The Hill: Leaders Of Science Academies Sound Alarm Over Political Interference 
Two of the most prominent science advisory groups on Thursday issued a warning about the consequences of political interference in science. The leaders of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in a joint statement said the reports about political meddling in science and public health are "alarming." (Weixel, 9/24)

Politico: How Trump Is Undermining His Own Vaccine Race 
Almost since the start of the coronavirus crisis, Trump has promised a vaccine is just around the corner, repeatedly contradicting his own experts on the timeline and the standards necessary for approval. The goal, he’s made clear, is a viable vaccine just before Election Day – the centerpiece of his own claims that the administration deserves an “A-plus” for its response to Covid-19.But that single-minded pursuit has left a string of damaging episodes in its wake and hopelessly intertwined the delicate drug development process with Trump’s political aims, according to interviews with a dozen public health experts both inside and outside the administration. (Cancryn, 9/24)

In global vaccine news —

AP: Chinese Company Says Coronavirus Vaccine Ready By Early 2021
A Chinese pharmaceutical company said Thursday the coronavirus vaccine it is developing should be ready by early 2021 for distribution worldwide, including the United States. Yin Weidong, the CEO of SinoVac, vowed to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell CoronaVac in the United States if it passes its third and final round of testing in humans. Yin said he personally has been given the experimental vaccine. (McNeil, 9/25)

The Hill: FBI Director Warns That Chinese Hackers Are Still Targeting US COVID-19 Research
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday said Chinese hackers are continuing to target U.S. companies involved in COVID-19 research and described China as the nation’s “greatest counterintelligence threat.” “We are seeing very aggressive activity by the Chinese, and in some cases by others, to target our COVID-related research, whether it’s vaccines, treatments, testing technology, etc.,” Wray testified to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a hearing on threats to the U.S. (Miller, 9/24)

: UK May Take Part In COVID-19 Vaccine 'Challenge Studies'
The British government says it may take part in a study that tries to deliberately infect volunteers who have been given an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus in an effort to more quickly determine if the vaccine works. The approach, called a challenge study, is risky but proponents think it may produce results faster than typical studies, which wait to see if volunteers who have been given an experimental treatment or a dummy version get sick. (Kirka, 9/24)

Politico: Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Warns Of Pressure On Health Regulators 
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is warning of the “very dangerous consequences” of political pressure on health regulators around the world.Freeland made the remarks Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump suggested the White House might reject an FDA proposal for stronger standards on the emergency use of any eventual Covid-19 vaccines. “We are seeing interference and pressure on regulators around the world, and I think we can all see the very dangerous consequences of that kind of an approach,” Freeland told reporters in Ottawa, without naming any other countries. “That will not be the approach our government takes.” (Blatchford, 9/24)

Reuters: Brazil To Join COVAX Vaccine Facility, As Chile, Israel, UAE Also Sign Up
Brazil, which has the world’s second-highest coronavirus death toll, has decided to join the global COVID-19 vaccine partnership known as COVAX and will earmark 2.5 billion reais ($454 million) for securing vaccines through it, President Jair Bolsonaro’s office said. Brazil plans to use the COVAX facility, which gives access to several vaccine candidates in development globally, to buy enough supplies to immunize 10% of its population by the end of 2021, the office said in a statement on Thursday. That should cover Brazil’s “priority populations,” it said. (9/25)