A couple of weeks back,
the CEO of Serum Institute of India announced that the launch of a new Covid-19
vaccine Covovax developed jointly in association with Novavax is likely to be
delayed to September in the country.
This came against the backdrop of a US Ban on exports of key raw materials required to manufacture the vaccine. And if the export controls aren’t lifted soon enough, it could upend the global war on Covid altogether.
Large-scale
vaccine production is no walk in the park. If you’re manufacturing vaccines,
you have to let cells replicate in a cell culture — Beefing them up each day in
large sterile plastic bags.
And
while you could bypass the use of bags by resorting to a different production
method, it can cause unnecessary delays in the process. For instance, Novavax
(in association with Serum Institute of India) is hoping to produce the next
billion vaccines using these very same methods. And an acute shortage of
bioreactor bags is threatening to scuttle this global effort.
Also,
once the cells have multiplied in numbers, you’ll have a soup that includes the actual vaccine and gunk that you don’t need.
At this point, you have to carefully filter the good stuff in a sterile
environment. Unfortunately, the filters (required to achieve this delicate
objective) are also in short supply.
The process requires
adequate supplies of a wide variety of specialized inputs — everything from
expensive pieces of capital equipment like bioreactors and filtration pumps to
single-use bioreactor bags, adjuvants and lipids — from a range of suppliers.
Bulk drug production
often requires recruiting partners further along the chain to complete the
final “fill and finish” step of adding other ingredients and putting the
correct dosage into tiny containers suitable for shipping to health care
workers. And, of course, the health care workers require syringes, needles, and
personal protective equipment to administer the doses.
One missing input or piece of equipment could grind the entire supply chain to
a halt — Excerpts from a report on the Peterson Institute for International
Economics.
And
as such, when the US decided to ban the export of key raw materials, it was
evident that the move was going to have a detrimental impact on the crusade
against Covid.
But
why is the US stopping down to such underhanded tactics?
Well,
technically they're prioritizing their own self-interest. They’ll argue that
they have to vaccinate ~300 million US citizens in the shortest period
possible. And so it’s imperative they stock these key raw materials for
domestic manufacturers. In fact, in a bid to achieve this objective the Biden
government invoked the Defence Production Act for the umpteenth time recently.
This law confers powers on the president who can then allocate “materials, services, and facilities” and award
contracts that take priority over any other contract to “promote the national
defense.” Meaning the president can allocate resources to aid this war effort
against Covid. He can impose export control and prevent manufacturers from
shipping key components to foreign destinations.
On
most occasions, the free market decides the allocation of resources based on
incentives. But in this particular case, the government dictates where
resources have to be expended. And while it does help manufacturers scale their
production capacity, it does have unintended consequences — Not just for the
likes of Serum Institute of India, but even for US citizens.
For
instance, as this article from NPR notes — "On Feb. 11, Pfizer
sent a letter to hospitals alerting them of “short-term supply interruptions
due to increased vaccine production” affecting cleocin phosphate, an
antibiotic; Depo-Medrol, a steroid; as well as depo-testosterone and
testosterone cypionate, which are used to treat certain hormonal problems and
some breast cancers. “These temporary interruptions are solely a result of the
prioritization of vaccine production and are not due to any manufacturing
delays or issues,” the letter says."
But
as we already noted, the most profound impact will likely be seen on the
frontlines of vaccination efforts in countries like India. If SII cannot ramp
up production, India and many other countries will have to suffer the
consequences. And it won’t be a pleasant sight especially since we are already
seeing the proliferation of the second wave. So hopefully, Indian and global
authorities can intervene and nudge US administrators to relax restrictions.
Until
then…
Don't forget to share this article on WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Twitter.