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Biontech boss Uğur Şahin: "That is not a solution"
Photo: FABIAN BIMMER / REUTERS
According to Biontech boss Uğur Şahin, renouncing intellectual property rights is the wrong way to increase the production of Covid-19 vaccines.
"That is not a solution," said Şahin at an event organized by the Association of the Foreign Press in Germany.
Biontech relies on close cooperation with selected partners, since its vaccine is difficult to manufacture.
"There are options that we are considering that we issue special licenses for competent manufacturers." This ensures the quality of the vaccine.
Production by licensees could, however, make a contribution towards the end of the year at the earliest.
The US government had brought in the surrender of intellectual property rights to increase vaccine production.
A decision has not yet been made, it said from the White House.
Şahin said it is important that vaccines made in the EU are exported to other parts of the world.
He expects herd immunity to be achieved in the EU by the end of the summer.
But there is little use if Europe is safe and the virus continues to rage in other regions.
Biontech is reviewing reports of myocarditis
Şahin expects his vaccine to be approved in China by June at the latest.
There Biontech cooperates with Fosun Pharma, outside the People's Republic Biontech cooperates with the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
Regarding reports of myocarditis cases from Israel after being vaccinated with its Covid-19 vaccine, Şahin said the company was following up.
So far, however, there has been no evidence of an unusual occurrence or increased cases of myocarditis.
The UK Medicines Agency, MHRA, said there were no concerns about the safety of the vaccine and myocarditis based on the data from the UK.
The US health authority CDC had already stated that it did not see any connection.
hej / Reuters
