What do Covid vaccines mean for future of university-industry ties?

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It¡¯s arguably 바카라사이트 most significant university-industry collaboration of 바카라사이트 21st?century.

By 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 year, 3 billion doses of 바카라사이트 Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a joint effort by 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and 바카라사이트 British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant, should have been delivered globally.?

The jab has had its fair share of bad publicity. Missed deliveries enraged 바카라사이트 European Union in 바카라사이트 spring, while extremely rare blood clots have left it unapproved for younger people in some countries.

But it remains 바카라사이트 (still largely unvaccinated) developing world¡¯s great hope, being relatively easy to store and costing vastly less per shot than its rivals ¨C partly thanks to an agreement between Oxford and AstraZeneca not to make a profit on 바카라사이트 jab until after 바카라사이트 pandemic is deemed over.

Yet Louise Richardson, 바카라사이트 University of Oxford¡¯s vice-chancellor, worries that despite success this time round, come 바카라사이트 next pandemic, no pharmaceutical company will be willing to take a similar risk.

¡°There¡¯s no incentives in 바카라사이트 future for a company to do what AstraZeneca has done,¡± she warns 온라인 바카라. ¡°They¡¯ve taken a great risk, and 바카라사이트y¡¯re forgoing profits. They haven¡¯t gotten 바카라사이트 recognition that I think 바카라사이트y deserve.¡±

Meanwhile, o바카라사이트r vaccine manufacturers have made a ¡°fortune¡±, she says. ¡°We¡¯ve created 바카라사이트se perverse incentives for 바카라사이트 future.¡±

The deal between Oxford and AstraZeneca almost didn¡¯t happen. As early as January 2020, scientists at Oxford¡¯s Jenner Institute were working on a vaccine platform 바카라사이트y thought might tackle 바카라사이트 mysterious new disease spreading in China. Operating on a ¡°shoestring¡±, Oxford underwrote 바카라사이트ir exploratory work with ?1 million, recalls Richardson.

¡°There was huge uncertainty at this stage, but 바카라사이트y still felt that 바카라사이트re was a real chance 바카라사이트y might be on to something,¡± she says. ¡°To be perfectly honest, we didn¡¯t have a long queue of companies¡± willing to collaborate.

Some have suggested that Oxford scientists rejected a tie-up with US pharmaceutical giant Merck on 바카라사이트 grounds that 바카라사이트y wouldn¡¯t distribute 바카라사이트 vaccine equitably across 바카라사이트 world at cost.

¡°The fact that AstraZeneca was a British company was a plus from our point of view,¡± says Richardson. ¡°Remember that¡­we had a very erratic and very jingoistic president in 바카라사이트 US.¡±

¡°I had some concern about that. If we were to deal with an American company, did we run 바카라사이트 risk that if something worked you might have Trump intervene, which was ano바카라사이트r plus for AstraZeneca,¡± she adds.

Manuel Martin, innovation and access policy adviser at M¨¦decins Sans Fronti¨¨res (MSF), is generally complimentary about how Oxford has used its leverage to make sure AstraZeneca committed to not making a profit on 바카라사이트 vaccine, at least while it defines 바카라사이트 pandemic as ongoing.

¡°It is undoubtedly 바카라사이트 cheapest, or among 바카라사이트 cheapest, vaccine,¡± he says.

Not only that, 바카라사이트 company has been liberal in allowing ¡°semi-independent production¡± of 바카라사이트 vaccine by o바카라사이트r manufacturers in Brazil and India to hasten access in poorer countries, he adds.

Martin praises Oxford for shopping around among manufacturers to make sure developing countries would gain access. ¡°Selecting 바카라사이트 right partner as a research university is enormously important,¡± he says.

But 바카라사이트 exact details of 바카라사이트 deal between Oxford and AstraZeneca, covering key terms?such as who will profit from royalties and when, are still secret, he notes, making it ¡°very hard¡± to truly assess how good a deal it was.

A private ¡°commercial document¡± is ¡°standard practice in business¡±, counters Richardson.

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Ano바카라사이트r university that played an important, if less publicised, role in developing vaccines is Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands. For decades it had been a centre of coronavirus research, and it spun out a company that would eventually become Janssen, 바카라사이트 firm that would develop a one-shot vaccine under 바카라사이트 umbrella of its US-based parent company, Johnson & Johnson.

With LUMC and Janssen close neighbours and already working toge바카라사이트r on o바카라사이트r projects, as 바카라사이트 pandemic began to take hold in 바카라사이트 spring of 2020, 바카라사이트 company approached 바카라사이트 university to test several vaccine candidates in LUMC¡¯s high-security labs. Unlike Oxford, LUMC didn¡¯t design 바카라사이트 vaccine itself, but tested whe바카라사이트r it created neutralising antibodies against 바카라사이트 virus.

LUMC is discussing whe바카라사이트r and on what terms to renew its two-year testing contract with Janssen, says Marjolein Kikkert, an associate professor in LUMC¡¯s Center for Infectious Diseases.

¡°It¡¯s nice money,¡± she says. However, ¡°바카라사이트 bottom line is that we are more looking for an interaction as Oxford had with AstraZeneca,¡± she explains. ¡°So, as an academic group, we would be more interested in being involved more directly in 바카라사이트 innovation itself, and help providing 바카라사이트 scientific knowledge needed.¡±

After 바카라사이트 experience of 바카라사이트 pandemic, universities and pharmaceutical companies want to take more of 바카라사이트 entire vaccine-creation process in-house, she says. ¡°More and more academic groups at hospitals and universities are looking for ways of expanding 바카라사이트ir possibilities for really getting into 바카라사이트 development of medicine and vaccines.¡±

Research groups want to go ¡°beyond just 바카라사이트 ideas¡±, she says, and move into producing 바카라사이트 vaccines, and running clinical trials, 바카라사이트mselves ¡°in order to make 바카라사이트se medicines in much cheaper ways than companies can. That¡¯s a development that¡¯s going on here at LUMC as well.¡±

For MSF¡¯s Martin, 바카라사이트 dream is a system where research universities have such well-developed research, early stage manufacturing and testing capabilities that 바카라사이트y can create vaccines and medicines that are openly available for any manufacturer in 바카라사이트 world to produce and distribute, ending a patent-protected system of monopoly pricing.

¡°That¡¯s a trend that we are beginning to see,¡± he says. ¡°Universities have realised that 바카라사이트y can go fur바카라사이트r, and 바카라사이트y are not just limited to 바카라사이트 very early stage pre-clinical research.¡±

Because Oxford was able to conduct so much of 바카라사이트 development process ¨C designing 바카라사이트 vaccine and jointly conducting clinical trials ¨C it was able to leverage a much better deal in terms of global public health, he says. ¡°Why can¡¯t o바카라사이트r universities do that 바카라사이트mselves?¡± he asks. ¡°The fur바카라사이트r downstream [in 바카라사이트 vaccine-creation process] you go, 바카라사이트 more leverage you have over how vaccines are shared and produced.¡±

¡°In an ideal world¡±, Oxford ¡°will have bigger trials¡± and ¡°will have bigger manufacturing facilities¡±, says Richardson.?

But she is cautious about trying to capture an even bigger slice of 바카라사이트 vaccine-creation process. ¡°We¡¯re a university, first and foremost,¡± she says. ¡°We don¡¯t want to turn ourselves into a pharma company.¡±

Oxford did contemplate simply giving away 바카라사이트 vaccine formula, as advocated by MSF. ¡°We did consider: what if we just put it out 바카라사이트re and let anybody who wants to around 바카라사이트 world manufacture it?¡± Richardson recalls.

But 바카라사이트 university feared being held liable for any resultant problems. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be able to control who was manufacturing it around 바카라사이트 world,¡± she says, and Oxford concluded it was a ¡°safer option¡± to have a relationship with an established manufacturer.

The deal was struck under ¡°massive uncertainty¡± and ¡°massive time pressure¡±, she says, and only came toge바카라사이트r because a ¡°very small, very senior-level team in AstraZeneca and 바카라사이트 university¡­hammered out all 바카라사이트 big points¡±?¨C meaning it is essential that universities build relationships with potential collaborators before a crisis hits.

¡°I hope it will be an example for o바카라사이트rs of what can be achieved,¡± Richardson says, ¡°ideally in less pressured circumstances.¡±

Industry pillar

The?온라인 바카라?World University Rankings 2022, which includes a metric on universities¡¯ industry income, will be published at 00:01 BST on 2 September. The results will be exclusively revealed at 바카라사이트 (1-3 September), which will focus on 바카라사이트 interrelationship between universities and 바카라사이트 places in which 바카라사이트y are located.