A Covid-19 vaccine without a biopharma backer

A British laboratory plans to sidestep the drug industry — and by extension, profits and licensing fees — in its plans to sell a potential coronavirus vaccine. Instead, Imperial College London lab is forming a partnership with Hong Kong-based Morningside Ventures, calling it VacEquity Global, to distribute the vaccine in Britain and low- and middle-income countries, the New York Times writes.

The lab’s lead scientist, Robin Shattock, told the New York Times that, if successful, the ICL technology would allow vaccines to be cheaply and easily manufactured.

“Somebody who’s developing a product that’s going to be of very high cost will actually ultimately lose out if the high-volume market doesn’t support that,” Shattock said.