No problem with profits

As people abandon masks and gather in bigger groups, it’s important to remember that covid-19 is still with us.

Fortunately, most Americans have ready access to vaccines that prevent the worst symptoms. These amazing pharmaceutical products, created in an incredibly short time, have saved millions of lives worldwide and enabled the country to get back to business.

Here’s a news flash: It’s OK for people who market blockbuster new products to make a lot of money. In fact, it’s crucial, so those people and their competitors will keep it up.

In the 2000s and before, no one was making money off vaccines—not researchers or manufacturers, or pediatricians giving shots.

Then, as now, the research, development, testing and manufacture of vaccines cost big bucks, and the market was much smaller than for other pharmaceuticals. The result was under-investment and high production costs that led to shortages. As the number of companies making vaccines dwindled, federal health organizations pushed for the government to ensure supplies by taking over production.

Fortunately, the market turned around. Demand soared in developing countries, thanks to the World Health Organization, the Gavi public-private vaccine partnership and other groups devoted to vaccinating the poor. On the business side, some new or updated vaccines started making good money for their companies, such as Merck’s Gardasil for human papillomavirus.

It’s difficult to calculate profit margins, as research costs aren’t typically made public, but this much is clear: Vaccines are some of the most cost-effective medical interventions ever.

We don’t know how much Pfizer, Moderna and BioNTech have saved the world so far, but the amount surely eclipses their profits. Yes, these companies have made tens of billions from their covid vaccines—while at the same time heading off premature deaths and getting the global economy moving again.

These same companies should be doing more to distribute their vaccines in poor and middle-income countries. Inequality in vaccine access is making it more difficult to end the pandemic. Still, a recent push to increase supply by seizing their technology and giving it away to local manufacturers is terribly shortsighted, as it would deter investment in vaccine development at a time of tremendous progress.