Prime Minister hosted Bill Gates and the heads of ten leading life
science and pharmaceutical companies for a virtual discussion
this afternoon, to address how government, industry and civil
society can work together to defeat coronavirus and prevent
future pandemics.
The CEOs of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol
Myers Squibb, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis AG,
Pfizer, Roche and Sanofi joined the meeting.
Following yesterday’s announcement of promising results in the
Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine trials, the CEOs described the
unprecedented collaborative effort across their industry to
develop new technologies and treatments at pace that will bring
the virus under control in the UK and around the world.
They re-committed to help ensure equitable global access to any
successful COVID-19 vaccine and called for investment in R&D
and support for open supply chains and innovation.
The Prime Minister underscored the UK’s leadership in this area –
such as investing over £800 million in COVAX and other global
vaccine initiatives – and the government’s preparedness to
manufacture and distribute a safe and effective vaccine at scale
in the UK.
He also outlined the UK’s five-point plan to prevent future
pandemics, first set out at UNGA, and asked for industry’s
support to develop and implement the recommendations. The plan
includes creating a global network of zoonotic disease research
hubs, expanding manufacturing capacity for vaccines and
treatments, and agreeing international protocols for health
crises.
Prime Minister said:
“Defeating coronavirus and preventing future pandemics is a truly
global endeavour, requiring ingenuity, tenacity and a spirit of
openness to succeed.
“Bill Gates sounded the alarm on the world’s lack of preparation
for a major health crisis long before most of us had heard the
word ‘coronavirus’ - and now we must heed his call to stop
something like this ever happening again.
“I heard today about the herculean joint effort that life science
companies and research institutions are undertaking to tackle
this disease at record speed. The UK will use our G7 presidency
next year to support this global endeavour and protect our
citizens at home, now and in the future.”
Addressing the roundtable, Bill Gates welcomed the commitment
from life-science companies to expand equitable access and set
out why we need to take steps now to prepare for future health
emergencies.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair, Bill Gates,
said:
“Every head of state is thinking about two questions right now:
How can we end the current pandemic? And how can we prevent the
next one?
“To answer those questions, the world needs a comprehensive
strategy; a coherent approach to financing and manufacturing
billions of doses of vaccines, tests and drugs; and a network to
monitor for new threats.
“We’re fortunate that Prime Minister Johnson has come up with a
smart plan to do just that in the UK, and our foundation will
continue to work with his government and others to make it a
reality.”
Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer Inc said:
“During this pandemic, the only enemy is the virus, and time. We
are in a new era of collaboration for problem solving and
appreciate the Gates Foundation and Prime Minister Johnson’s
leadership to help the world be better prepared for future
pandemics.”
Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK:
“We very much welcome the efforts of the UK Government to address
future pandemic preparedness. The Prime Minister has the
opportunity of the upcoming UK G7 Presidency to bring leadership
to this and GSK stands ready to support.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
The CEOs present were:
Albert Bourla, Pfizer Inc.
Alex Gorsky, Johnson & Johnson
Belén Garijo, Merck
Emma Walmsley, GSK
Giovanni Caforio, Bristol Myers Squibb
Hubertus von Baumbach, Boehringer Ingelheim
Paul Hudson, Sanofi
Severin Schwan, Roche
Stefan Oelrich, Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Vas Narasimhan, Novartis
The PM’s five-point plan to defeat future pandemics, outlined at
the UN General Assembly in September, is:
1. Establish a global network of zoonotic disease research
centres.
2. Rapidly expand our capacity to manufacture new vaccines and
treatments.
3. Create a pandemic early warning system to identify any new
outbreaks quickly.
4. Devise the protocols on key issues - from data-sharing to
quarantines – and hold them in readiness for another crisis.
5. Cancel any tariffs and, wherever possible, lift export
controls on Covid-critical products.
