After closing yesterday with a 0.17% rise, Sanofi (SNY) stock is in the red now. “Giving the U.S. priority access to a Sanofi vaccine against the new coronavirus would be ‘unacceptable,’” a French government minister said.
Sanofi SA (Nasdaq: SNY) stock slid 2.36% in the pre-market and dropped further 1.64% after the market opened on Thursday, May 14, to trade around $47.63 now. The French multinational pharmaceutical company entered into a partnership with the United States government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to select the Covid-19 strain sequence used in the design of the vaccine candidate, using the recombinant technology.
As a result of the American partnership with Sanofi, its hands are tied to provide Americans with the vaccine first according to the company’s CEO Paul Hudson. “The U.S., which expanded a vaccine partnership with the company in February, expects that if we’ve helped you manufacture the doses at risk, we expect to get the doses first,” Hudson said.
His suggestion sparked outrage in France, with President Emmanuel Macron indicating he plans to meet with the company’s officials to discuss the matter. Bloomberg reported that Macron was disturbed by the company’s suggestion, saying that a vaccine against Covid-19 must be a common good that stands outside market rules.
Sanofi Challenge Foreseen, Stock May Fall
The Sanofi-France crash on the vaccine supply indicates the level of conflict between multinational biotech companies and governments. However, over 140 world leaders and experts came together to sign an open letter calling for a people’s vaccine as well as treatment that would be available swiftly to all for free. The news was released to the public by UNAIDS and Oxfam on Thursday.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for an open and transparent method of delivering coronavirus vaccine to the whole world without fear or favour. “Nobody should be pushed to the back of the vaccine queue because of where they live or what they earn,” he said.
The challenge at hand is tackling the possibility of inequality in distributing a possible vaccine globally since it’s a global pandemic. Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA), which is also rushing to develop a coronavirus vaccine, said one Biotech Company can’t develop a vaccine for the whole world population in a short period.
As a result, health advocates have warned that the race could leave out countries that cannot afford it. Therefore, the imbalance would lead to mass fatalities and devastating economic damage.
“For us, it would be unacceptable that there be privileged access for this or that country on a pretext that would be a financial pretext,” Junior Economic Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said.
Though at the moment Sanofi stock is trading at a good level for it, there is a change that due to some business issues the stock may fo down. Let us remind you that the ATH for it was around $56 in 2014 while the lowest level was $25 in 2009.
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