Context: The pandemic has changed the nature of vaccine development which leads to certain opportunities and challenges in the future
Positive Changes in Vaccine Development
Increased Alliance and Cooperation: The urgency has led to partnerships and alliances between erstwhile rivals; unprecedented levels of government-private co-operation;
For E.g. In India, from vaccine producers such as the Serum Institute of India to drug makers like Cipla and Wockhardt have forged multiple partnerships.
Saves Time and Efforts: The idea is to break up and parcel out portions of the research and development process so that they can be conducted in parallel to save time.
The unparalleled concentration of resources: dedicated to the COVID-19 in the form of both researchers and funds.
Accessible Data: Research data that was once closely guarded are now put on open platforms so that every scientist across the world has access.
Innovative Methodologies: As opposed to the traditional clinics, virtual clinics are being used to avoid the risk of exposure where drugs are couriered to the participants.
Rising role of India: The western world had largely considered India to be a production hub, and also, good potential geography for clinical trials.
Side-effects of Changes
Inefficiency in Research: Regulators around the world are willing to settle for smaller clinical trials and limited data before clearing a drug for emergency use without conducting large scale trials.
For, E.g. This was seen when the US FDA cleared Remdesivir for emergency use authorization through participants are still being enrolled for a large-scale efficacy study.
Neglect of other diseases: Overconcentration of resources in the COVID management and research has impacted the healthcare delivery for diseases like diabetes, cancer, TB, malaria and dengue
Way Forward:
Striking a balance between research for lifestyle diseases and antivirals: would ensure the long-term sustainability of the pharmaceuticals industry in India
In the past, many observers felt that infectious disease research was treated like a step-child by drug companies — now it is the reverse.
Push towards original drug discovery:
Traditionally, Indian companies have not made a mark in original drug or vaccine discovery.
Covid-19 could be the spur that pushes them to play higher up in the original drug discovery process.