US Priority On Sanofi Virus Vaccine Would Be Unacceptable, Says France

Giving some countries such as the United States priority access to any coronavirus vaccine developed by Sanofi would be unacceptable, France's junior economy minister said on Thursday, after the firm suggested Americans could get it first.

The French drugmaker's chief executive, Paul Hudson, said on Wednesday that vaccine doses produced in the United States could go to U.S. patients first, given the country had supported the research financially.

Sanofi, which had already flagged this possibility in recent weeks and had urged stronger European coordination in the hunt for a vaccine, has since clarified that it would be made available to all, following a backlash in France in particular.

"It would of course be unacceptable for us if there were to be a privileged access for this or that country under pretext of a pecuniary motive, especially in the current context," Agnes Pannier-Runacher, France's junior economy minister, told Sud Radio.

She said she had contacted the firm and received assurances that the vaccine would be made available in all countries, including France, where it has production sites.

"Evidently, if Sanofi makes a breakthrough on a vaccine for COVID-19 and it is efficient, it will be made available to all," Olivier Bogillot, the head of Sanofi in France, told BFM TV on Thursday.

The controversy has raised questions, however, over whether Europe has been too slow to respond in terms of organising and funding vaccine research, and Sanofi reiterated on Thursday that the United States had moved more quickly in this regard.

Sanofi added that it was in talks with the European Union and the French and German governments to expedite regional vaccine development.

The company, whose Pasteur division has an established track record of producing influenza vaccines, teamed up with British rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc last month to come up with a vaccine candidate it hopes will be ready next year.

The companies have received financial support from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Health Department.

Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux, the head of France' business lobby Medef, said that Europe could still catch up and ensure it gets access to a vaccine in a timely manner, but that the quick U.S. action had shone a spotlight on its response.

"It adds to this debate ... on Europe's ability to act collectively," Roux de Bezieux told BFM Business.

(Reuters)