Executive Director of the French pharmaceutical group Sanofi Paul Hudson | Eric Piermont / AFP via Getty Images
The United States has "invested to take the risk".
The United States could have the first access to the vaccine against the coronavirus Sanofi because the country has raised more money than Europe, according to the CEO of the French pharmaceutical company.
"The United States government is entitled to the biggest pre-order because it has invested to take the risk," Sanofi chief executive Paul Hudson told Bloomberg in a published interview. Wednesday.
The US Advanced Biomedical Research and Development Authority. United States (BARDA) has allocated $ 30 million to one of two vaccine candidates from Sanofi, which also uses GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) technology.
With this help, the United States hopes that "if we helped him take the at-risk doses, we hope to get the doses first," said Hudson.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Sanofi warned that Europe risks being left behind United States and China.
"These two powerful economies will be vaccinated first, which is why it has become so important to try to create a debate in Europe to say:" Do not let Europe get left behind "", did he declare.
In April Hudson slammed the EU for its lack of coordination in vaccine research.
"I campaigned in Europe to say that the United States will get the vaccines first," said Hudson. "It will be so because they have invested to try to protect their population, to revive their economy."
The Commission hosted a pledge conference to raise $ 8 billion, in part for vaccine development, but the United States United States Remarkably, they did not attend. This has fueled fears that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, will start a global fight to get the first access to a vaccine.
Sanofi released a statement on Wednesday evening saying that the vaccine will be manufactured in the United States and will be "primarily for the United States and the rest of the manufacturing capacity will span Europe and the rest of the world".
Sanofi's partnerships with BARDA allow the company to start production of a vaccine while it is still in development.
The company added that it was "very encouraged to see the mobilization of the European Commission in recent weeks, exploring similar measures that could accelerate the development of vaccines and access to the European population".
"We have very constructive conversations with the European institutions and the French and German government, among others," the company wrote.
This story has been updated with the additional statement from Sanofi.