Viruses don’t stand still. And neither do we. It’s been almost two years since the administration of the first COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020 and as of September 2022, more than two thirds of people worldwide had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.
The biopharmaceutical industry is proud to continue to play a key role in helping to manage the worst global health pandemic in our lifetime. We are constantly innovating, pushing science forward to help us stay ahead of this pandemic and be better prepared for future ones.
WE’RE CONTINUING TO ADAPT AND RESPOND WITH VACCINE INNOVATION AS COVID-19 EVOLVES
We continue to develop new COVID-19 vaccines and adapting existing ones to offer longer, broader and more durable protection. This includes multi-valent and next generation universal vaccines that can offer protection against more than one variant of COVID-19 and variants that have not yet emerged.
We’re also developing ways to make COVID-19 vaccines easier to transport, store and administer. This includes vaccines that don’t need to be kept constantly cold and vaccines that can be taken as a nasal spray. Plus COVID-19 vaccines that can be given in one dose with other vaccines for flu or pneumonia.
In parallel with vaccine innovation, we also continue to develop new medicines to treat the symptoms of COVID-19 at every stage of infection, which helps relieve pressure on health systems, for example by reducing the risk of hospitalization.
WE’RE TURNING VACCINE BREAKTHROUGHS INTO NEW HOPE FOR CANCER, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES
After decades of research, mRNA vaccines were used for the first time in response to COVID-19. Now we’re using that breakthrough to explore how it could offer new hope for other diseases like flu, cancer, TB and malaria.
New vaccine technology like mRNA can also make it easier to scale up production or quickly pivot production to tackle new variants and other viruses with pandemic potential.
WE’RE SHARING OUR TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE TO EXPAND VACCINE MANUFACTURING WORLDWIDE
Pandemics are global – vaccines supply chains must be too. We are investing in new manufacturing facilities and partnerships to help enhance long-term local production of innovative vaccines and treatments in places that lack local production capacity.
We’ve also entered into over 500 voluntary manufacturing partnerships, sharing our technology, processes and know-how to expand vaccine production and treatments without compromising on safety and effectiveness. Now we’re working to strengthen this innovation ecosystem.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge learning moment for us all. We’re applying these lessons today to make sure we’re ready to respond when the next outbreak happens. Threats will continue to emerge – like monkeypox or Ebola outbreaks.
Employees from across our industry – from scientists in the labs to engineers in production facilities and medical experts on the ground – are applying their scientific expertise, passion and creativity to find new and better solutions. To make sure everyone has the opportunity to be protected, wherever they live.
