Huge success for European research policy / Pandemic might be less worse this spring / EU secures hundreds of millions of vaccines / Contract will be signed shortly

The health spokesperson for the biggest group in European parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), Dr med. Peter Liese calls the results of the third phase of the clinical trial for a corona vaccine a that has been produced by Biontech in collaboration with Pfizer “huge success for European research policy”. Biontech and Pfizer announced on Monday that, according to their analysis, 90% of test persons who received the vaccine are protected against Covid-19. They tested a total of 43,538 subjects whereas 94 cases were confirmed Covid-19 positive.

“The study is a double-blind study and it was only in the last few days that the study leaders were aware themselves who received a placebo and who received the vaccine. Significantly more Covid-19 cases emerged in the placebo group compared to the group of those who received the vaccine. That's a very good result. Of course, the data still has to be checked by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and they will do so shortly. A team of experts at the EMA is already prepared and ready to act and the first parts of the data from phases 1 and 2 have already been evaluated. A vaccine needs to be available in Europe as soon as possible, but we insist on a safe vaccine,” said Liese. If the announcements can be confirmed, it will be a huge success for European research and innovation policy. The Biontech project is financed, among others, by the European research program Horizon 2020, supported by the financial instrument InnovFin and by the European fund for strategic investments. In addition, Biontech received money from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research", said Liese.

Together with the member states, the European Commission has already been heavily involved in intensive negotiations with Biontech/Pfizer, and in general, there is an agreement that Europeans will be provided with hundreds of millions of vaccines. According to my information, the respective contract is about to be signed. I think it is very important that the European Commission cooperates with industry on this patter. All is in accordance with EU law, for example regarding transparency and liability. In my opinion, criticism towards the European Commission from within the European Parliament by the Greens and the left is based on the fundamental scepticism of these political parties against the pharmaceutical industry. However, I think that the cooperation is necessary, because the question is where would we would stand during this pandemic without any cooperation together with the pharmaceutical industry and where would we be if the vaccine was available to Americans but not to Europeans”, says the MEP and doctor Liese.

“A vaccine will not end the corona pandemic overnight. It will surely take many months after approval of the vaccine until the necessary 60 to 70 percent of people in Germany and Europe are vaccinated. However if, as planned, we first vaccinate the medical staff and high-risk patients and if the vaccine indeed protects up to 90 percent against Covid-19, a situation like the one we are experiencing now in Belgium, for example, can be prevented in the next few months. In the spring, I am expecting that we can go back to a normal life step by step," Liese concluded.