Paris (AFP)

Faced with the new coronavirus, research is being organized and projects are multiplying, carried out both by public bodies and private laboratories. And financial motivation is not the only reason for their commitment.

Who are the main players?

They are very numerous around the world: those who develop diagnostic tests, those who work on vaccines, those who test antivirals as potential treatments for the sick, engaged in more or less extensive research.

These can range from small to large public laboratories, from the Pasteur Institute in France to the American National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Melbourne in Australia.

In the private sector, biotechnology companies have launched themselves, including the American Moderna Therapeutics and Inovio Pharma, selected by CEPI, the Coalition for innovations in preparation for epidemics, in an attempt to develop a vaccine.

The American laboratory Gilead is working with the Chinese authorities on the potential use of remdesivir, an antiviral tested in the past for Ebola.

Some behemoths have also offered their help, such as the British GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which has announced that it will make available its adjuvant manufacturing technology for epidemic vaccines.

In the United States, Johnson and Johnson said it is collaborating with the public authorities to accelerate the development of a vaccine, and in France, Sanofi brings its expertise to CEPI.

Overall, the public and private sectors collaborate, which CEPI illustrates.

Is this a potential windfall for laboratories?

If we take the case of the H1N1 flu vaccines ordered in 2009-2010 by the French government, 380 million euros had been spent by the State. On Wall Street, the Moderna and Inovio biotechs saw their courses climb when their research was announced ... before coming back down.

It is indeed necessary to put into perspective the financial contribution that this coronavirus could represent: vaccines are not sold very expensive. Large laboratories also prefer to position themselves in sectors such as oncology or rare diseases, with therapies that can reach $ 2 million per treatment.

"The business of vaccines in general represents 2% of the world market of medicines", remarked to AFP the health economist Claude Le Pen, and "if a laboratory finds a therapy, in the current climate, there will be strong pressures for treatment to be given at low cost. "

Added to this is the risk of working for months before developing a product that might not be ready until the end of the epidemic, as the delays are so long for clinical trials.

On the other hand, according to an analysis by the American cabinet CFRA Research, "higher purchases of antibiotics or medicines for fever or pain" (despite their ineffectiveness against the SARS-CoV-2 virus) could be recorded due to the 'epidemic. These sales could, according to this note, first benefit the Chinese laboratories.

Why position yourself on this new coronavirus?

"In terms of communication for a laboratory vis-à-vis the population and the government, it makes sense to say: + we are health actors and we take care of you +, explains to AFP Jean-Jacques Le Fur, pharmaceutical industry specialist for Bryan, Garnier & Co.

"There is a scientific prestige. We must not underestimate the professional motivation", insists Mr. Le Pen. In addition, for biotechnology companies, "having succeeded in developing either an antiviral or a vaccine in a few months will make it easier for them to access funding for their own program".

Can the virus cause drug supply problems?

This is a concern relayed by the French Academy of Pharmacy on Thursday. Because the active ingredients, necessary for the manufacture of medicines, are massively produced in Asia: 80% of the active substances used for medicines in the European Union come from third countries, India and China alone concentrating 60% of the production sites.

However, European pharmaceutical laboratories, while claiming to be attentive, wanted to be reassuring.

"In general, we have several suppliers for our key raw materials in order to limit the risk of supply disruption and the situation in China is no different," said Frenchman Sanofi in particular.

© 2020 AFP