“Unfortunately we have to inform you that the production of vaccines does not fall within our competence,” he told us Emanuela Malacrida, CEO Personal Assistant of Cerbios. «Zambon Switzerland is not active in the production of vaccines, and on the other hand its questions touch on health policy problems to which we cannot answer», declared the General Manager of Zambon Switzerland Giampiero Roncoroni. She echoed him Silvia Misti, Head of Corporate Communication & CSR of IBSA: «Since IBSA's business is very far from the vaccine and virus sector, we do not have a position at corporate level in this regard». Things didn't go any better with the IRB: «It's not within our competence to express ourselves on political-economic topics», replied Stéphanie Savary, assistant in the Director's Office. Even Swissmedic did not comment: «We are the Swiss authorization and surveillance authority for therapeutic products. We ensure that the authorized therapeutic products are of impeccable quality, effective and safe. The question of priorities regarding vaccine research and supply must be posed to the pharmaceutical companies or the legislator."
In fact, the topic involves both health and economic interests and the Doctor does not hide it Ricardo Mestre Pereira, head of Medical Oncology at IOSI and participant in some research on Covid. «Producing a vaccine or not is a strategic choice made by companies. It is effective on the risk of death, but from the pharmaceutical company's point of view it does not have a high profit margin. It is more advantageous to treat a patient with Covid rather than develop a vaccine, that's the reality."
In Ticino, Humabs has developed a monoclonal antibody called VIR-7831, which also seems capable of capturing the variants. Mestre Pereira himself is collaborating on the development of a drug which is in fact an anti-male hormone, which therefore blocks male hormones. «One of the most important entrance doors of the virus inside the cell is exclusively controlled by male hormones. Our hypothesis is to block it with a drug used for prostate cancer. We test it on high-risk patients who are still overall well, they are in the first days of the infection: males over 50 years old and at least one risk factor for a more serious Covid".
Research by Brazilian and American colleagues has shown that a drug with the same principle has an effectiveness of 92%. Another study in which the doctor is involved tries to understand whether those who possess a given polymorphism that metabolises androgens differently have a greater risk of getting ill.
The doctor believes that the best approach to returning to normality is to combine vaccines with curative drugs. «We cannot imagine treating Covid patients without vaccinating them, we would pay a high price in human lives. Vaccination is the best way and we must insist on it on a global scale, also by eliminating the differences between countries. The development of drugs is needed for those who will get sick anyway, therefore treatments against Covid are needed. Not just someone on whom the vaccine didn't work, but who didn't have access to it or on whom it stopped being effective. We don't know how long the antibodies will last (for Moderna's it seems like six months, ed.), boosters will be needed and the risk of having patients with Covid in the next few years is high."
But are vaccines really effective? For Mestre Pereira, with current data it is known that they prevent people from getting seriously ill, it does not mean that those who, even if vaccinated, contract the Coronavirus in a mild form cannot transmit it. And the effectiveness on unhealthy patients is yet to be seen.
Many fear the side effects. Miro Venturi, CEO of Sintetica, responded to us that «every medicine is not free from possible side effects, which we often live with without worrying about it, on an almost daily basis. The pharmaceutical industry follows very rigorous protocols that require the reporting and understanding of so-called "adverse events" both in patients during clinical tests and once the drug itself has entered the market. I have faith in these processes, which are not only guided by the pharmaceutical industry, but also reported and monitored by public authorities."
But why has no one produced a vaccine in Switzerland, despite the presence of giants like Roche and Novartis? Matthias Leuenberger, Country President of Novartis Switzerland, told us: «Novartis has made the strategic decision to focus on drug development. In 2015 we divested our vaccines business and since 2018 we have focused our research and development efforts on infectious diseases such as malaria and a number of neglected tropical diseases. Our strategy is to build a leading, focused pharmaceutical company, powered by advanced therapeutic platforms and data-driven science." However, Novartis recently announced an initial agreement to provide manufacturing capacity to Stein for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine: «In addition to this, we are now expanding our efforts with the agreement to take over the production of the mRNA and bulk pharmaceutical product for the Covid 19 CVnCOV vaccine for CureVac in Kundl (Tyrol, Austria). That said, the topic of Covid vaccine production is currently very dynamic, and further discussions are ongoing."
Doctor Richard Braglia from Helsinn gave us his explanation of the reason why we did not try to produce vaccines: «It would have been impossible in such a short time (10-11 months), as in Switzerland the necessary technology to develop vaccines does not exist, and the construction of a dedicated plant with the relevant technology takes several years. Furthermore, a vaccine production plant aimed only at the Swiss market would not have the critical mass and consequent profitability."
The Swiss Lonza, which collaborates with Moderna and which we tried to contact in vain, had proposed to the Federal Council to create a production line in Valais, according to the leaders capable of covering the Swiss needs in a few weeks with 100 million doses per day. year, receiving a negative response. For Berset, however, it was never an option. In mid-April Dan Staner, vice president of the American vaccine manufacturer Moderna, agreed with him, explaining that Switzerland would not have had a different situation from the current one, characterized by continuous delays".
Ticino, however, touched particularly strongly by the first wave, made its contribution. Research at the EOC level is numerous. Second Giovanni Mazzei, new president of the Ticinesi Pharmaceutical Association, «involvement in the logistics chain would have been desirable, mainly exploiting the warehouses of the manufacturing companies. These sites and their warehouses, in addition to being already approved by Swissmedic, can exhibit structural measures suitable for the storage of vaccines, as well as staff trained and suitable for handling such sophisticated and delicate products". However, he concludes "the Ticino pharmaceutical industry is contributing on the front line to the fight against Covid19, thanks to its know-how in the development of drugs to treat the disease".
