Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Karolyn Coorsh
Medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders says it would rather pay than accept a donation of one million pneumonia vaccine doses from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
In an Oct. 12 blog post, the humanitarian organization’s executive director Jason Cone explained why they rejected Pfizer’s donation offer, saying the organization is trying to raise awareness on the issue of medical affordability for many nations around the world, where the cost of the vaccine makes it out of reach. Such donations, he said, can also “undermine long-term efforts to increase access to affordable vaccines and medicines.”
While the vaccine is critical for many children in developing countries, it is “incredibly high-priced,” says Kate Elder, Doctors Without Borders’ vaccine policy advisor.
“We believe that we should have to pay the lowest global price,” Elder told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.
For the past seven years, Doctors Without Borders has been trying to negotiate with Pfizer, as well as pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, to lower the price of the vaccine.
One of the reasons it’s so important, Elder said, is because there are other organizations and more importantly, other governments that need the vaccine.
“We have heard repetitively from governments that are trying to purchase this vaccine to protect their children’s health that it’s just too costly for them.” According to Doctors Without Borders, approximately 60 governments around the world have not yet introduced the pneumonia vaccine in their national immunization programs.
“One large inhibitor to them being able to introduce this vaccine and protect their children is the price itself,” Elder said.
In addition, donations are often used “as an excuse for why others need to pay up, so to speak.”
And, there are other consequences that come with accepting vaccine donations, including restrictions often placed by the donor in terms of who the product can be used for, and where.
“It’s not just a, ‘Here, take the donation and use it wherever you want,’” Elder said. “There are restrictions, and as you get into negotiating these things which are incredibly time-consuming contracts to negotiate, you see all of the fine print.”
Doctors Without Borders wants a “fair and low price so that we can buy a product as any other consumer and use it where the medical needs are,” she added.
Although rejecting the vaccine donation was difficult decision to make, Elder said their policy aligns with that of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, which try to “limit the negative consequence of in-kind donations.”
“It’s very frustrating for our doctors and nurses to be on the ground without the medical tools that they need,” she said.
Elder said, what really needs to done to bring down the price of vaccines and medical aid is to “stimulate competition.
“Another negative consequence of accepting donations is that it can inhibit the entrance of additional manufacturers,” she said.
“Right now, the price is remaining high for the pneumonia vaccine because there are only two manufacturers, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline.”
Recently GlaxoSmithKline “took a bold step forward,” Elder said, by reducing their price of the pneumonia vaccine to the humanitarian community the lowest global price.
“One company, one of the two, has been able to do it,” Elder said. “It’s not clear why Pfizer is not following suit.”
In a statement to CTV’s Your Morning, Pfizer said it “strongly disagrees” with Doctors Without Borders “stated policy and believes product donations play a crucial role in addressing humanitarian crises around the world.”