According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 124 potential vaccines for COVID-19 where 10 are at the clinical trial level. While in India it is expected to start in 6 months. Countries such as China have few government projects, while most private pharma companies are engaged in vaccine discovery. However, this raises the question as to why so many companies are engaged in this endeavor and why everyone wants to find the vaccine. The reason for this is money. The company that will find the vaccine is sure to be rewarded.
After inventing any vaccine or drug, money is not made only from the sale of it, but also from the patent rights, a lot of profit is made. The world's largest vaccine maker produces 1.5 billion doses annually. However, the Serum Institute of India (SII) has publicly supported the non-patenting of the vaccine. Gilead Science, whose drug remadevisor has been approved to be used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US for treatment against COVID-19, also owns the antiviral drug Sofosbuvir that is used to treat hepatitis C.
Any company offering medical solutions for COVID-19 fetches tremendous value. As seen in the case of Moderna last week itself. This American company, which has not sold a single product till date, saw a huge jump of $ 30 billion in market capital and 30 percent in shares. A day earlier, the company was reported to be successful in the first phase of manufacturing the covid-19 vaccine. The company was launched 10 years ago. It is now raising $ 1.34 billion at a price of $ 76 per share. When its publicly listed shares are trading below the $ 60 range.
This drug from Gilead Science was first approved by the FDA in December 2013 for three years. The company earned $ 44 billion from it. You will be stunned by knowing the cost of each dose. This price was $ 1000. Take the example of Merck, who earns one billion dollars only from his HPV vaccine Gardasil which was launched in 2006. Assuming the price of just one dose of covid-19 vaccine at just $ 30, then a company can earn $ 10 billion in a year. If one third of the global population is vaccinated.
