We, Salud por Derecho, Médicos del Mundo, Asociación por un Acceso Justo al Medicamento (AAJM), Sociedad Española de Salud Pública y Administración Sanitaria (SESPAS) y No Gracias, ask the Spanish government to ensure the return of public investment made in the vaccine produced by HIPRA. This is our position.
All the organisations supporting this position celebrate the success of HIPRA’s vaccine. The innovation and development of vaccines, medicines and diagnostics to curb COVID-19 has been the focus of a multitude of actors in the public and private sectors. Researchers, health professionals and society in general have also played a key role in controlling its spread over the past three years.
Spain is committed, together with the rest of the world, the European Union, and multilateral agencies, to finding incentives so that the development of necessary health technologies can be accelerated. In terms of financing, public investment has been the main driver. The investments materialised in the granting of R&D aid and advance purchase agreements (APAs)1. Other measures, related to regulatory frameworks, the acceleration of data review processes, or exempting industry from liability for compensation for side effects, have helped to ensure that products are developed, produced, and reach the market at minimum risk to the producing companies.
COVID-19 vaccines, so often named as global public goods by international leaders in speeches, have not been distributed fairly on a global level. Lower-income countries have taken much longer to reach the recommended vaccination rates for COVID-19 as established by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to current figures, only 28.5% of people in low-income countries have received their first dose of a vaccine. Considering this, countries with greater capacities for global reach have put into place initiatives to try and reverse the vaccine-access gap. The WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) initiative, of which Spain is a partner, has been a big step forward. In November 2021, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) came together to develop a diagnostic test for COVID-19. The test can be manufactured as a generic product by any accredited company in the world to guarantee its accessibility and affordability for all those who need it.
HIPRA was one of the collaborating companies that received financial aid and backing from the Spanish government over the past two years to create a vaccine against COVID-19. It received economic aid and loans from the Ministry of Science and the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTi) of close to 20 million Euros. Through Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HERA)5, an EU initiative to prevent future pandemics, the company has secured contracts to produce 250 million doses, which will benefit 14 EU Member states.
We celebrate HIPRA’s success, but it is also essential to assert the Spanish government’s commitments to equity and global access to vaccines and to the economic support provided to the industry from the public sector. Because of this, just as other institutions from Spain have done, HIPRA should share its technology with the C-TAP initiative.
The Spanish government must ensure the return on public investment in coherence with the promotion of its policies on the international stage and with its commitments. They must ensure that vaccines are widely available, with affordable prices and reasonable profit margins, and that they can be manufactured by qualified and accredited companies in lower-income countries. All this needs to be done to save lives, strengthen healthcare systems, bring end to the COVID-19 pandemic, and properly respond to future pandemics.
