COVID-19 solutions.

Pushing science forward

We are constantly innovating, pushing science forward to help us stay ahead of this pandemic and be better prepared for future ones.

Viruses don’t stand still. And neither do we. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many lessons and we’re continuing to adapt and respond as the virus evolves.

Employees from across our industry – from scientists in the labs to engineers in production facilities and medical experts on the ground – are applying their scientific expertise, passion and creativity to find new and better solutions. To make sure everyone has the opportunity to be protected, wherever they live.

New and improved COVID-19 vaccines

We are developing new COVID-19 vaccines and adapting existing ones to offer longer, broader and more durable protection. This includes multi-valent vaccines that can offer protection against more than one variant of COVID-19.

We’re developing ways to make COVID-19 vaccines easier to transport, store and administer. This includes vaccines that don’t need to be kept constantly cold and vaccines that can be taken as a nasal spray. Plus COVID-19 vaccines that can be given in one dose with other vaccines for flu or pneumonia.

We’re also researching the next generation of protection, such as universal vaccines that could offer protection against all variants of COVID-19, including those yet to emerge.

New vaccine technology

We’re developing new vaccine platforms that make it easier to scale-up production or quickly pivot production to tackle new variants or other viruses with pandemic potential.

For example, after decades of research, mRNA vaccines were used for the first time in response to COVID-19. Now we’re using that breakthrough to explore how it could offer new hope for other diseases like flu, cancer, TB and malaria.

Scaling up manufacturing capacity

We entered into over 500 voluntary manufacturing partnerships, sharing our technology, processes and know-how to expand vaccine production and treatments without compromising on safety and effectiveness. Now we’re working to strengthen this innovation ecosystem.

We are also investing in new manufacturing facilities and partnerships to help enhance long-term local production of innovative vaccines and treatments in places that lack local production capacity.

New medicines

Treatments are another important tool we can use to fight COVID-19, including for those who are not able to use vaccines, such as those who are immuno-compromised. We have tested existing treatments and developed new ones. Over 36 treatments have been approved for emergency use or standard of care including antivirals, anti-inflammatories and monoclonal antibodies.

Research is continuing. We are developing new medicines to treat the symptoms of COVID-19 at every stage of infection, which could help relieve pressures on health systems, for example by reducing the risk of hospitalization. These include antiviral therapies which aim to stop the virus during the early stages of infection, prevent it from copying itself in our cells, or strengthen our body’s existing viral defences. In addition, we are developing therapies designed to protect people’s heart, blood, and lungs from the harmful effects of COVID-19 infection, and medicines which aim to relieve the life-altering symptoms of long COVID.

Future pandemic preparedness

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us lessons. As the world looks to build better preparedness against future pandemics, it is vital that we build on these lessons as they can inform how we create a healthier, safer, more equitable world.

One clear lesson learned from COVID-19 is that science and innovation delivered, against a remarkable timeline and in historic quantities.

The approval of the first vaccine, just 326 days after information about the virus sequence was published, was a scientific marvel. The successful manufacturing scale-up that ensued has been dubbed the “second miracle” of the pandemic. In just one year, more than 11 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses were produced. Prior to the pandemic, the total world production of all vaccines was between 3 and 5 billion.

Thanks to ground-breaking partnerships, supply and donations have ramped-up drastically, to the point that, today, COVID-19 vaccine production outpaces doses administered. But while innovation and vaccine scale-up worked, there have been significant challenges in ensuring COVID-19 vaccines were equitably distributed.

Vaccine nationalism, trade barriers and export bans, as well as a lack of early and adequate financing mechanisms for international partnerships such as COVAX, contributed to a widening gap in vaccination rates between high-income and low-income countries. Likewise, lack of country readiness and absorption capacity continue to leave the highest risk populations in many countries vulnerable.

We recognise that some of the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine. Achieving equitable access requires more than just producing and delivering more doses.

The priority is now at healthcare delivery level, where jabs reach arms. The biggest bottlenecks are in vaccine delivery and administration. Limited storage facilities, poor healthcare infrastructure, a lack of trained personnel and vaccine hesitancy create additional barriers

Collectively, we need to redouble efforts to support these countries, to ensure that we turn vaccines into vaccinations. To find a solution to these challenges and to be better prepared to respond to future pandemics the biopharmaceutical industry has announced the Berlin Declaration, a vision for a new social contract for more collaborative and equitable rollout of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.