New York ¨C Pandemics make for strange bedfellows and behavior in the pharmaceutical industry.
The world is relying on drugmakers¡¯ expertise to get us out of the COVID-19 crisis ¡ª initially with treatments to help lessen the risks from contracting the virus, and then ultimately with a vaccine. The high pressure, enormous need, and global attention are leading companies to try new things on the fly. Just last week, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. signed a pact with its erstwhile rival Roche Holding AG aimed at substantially boosting supplies of a potential treatment for COVID-19; it even made some monetary sacrifices to do so. And that¡¯s only the latest example.
Much of what¡¯s happening represents a war-time type response to a unique situation, and it may not be repeated. These are for-profit companies, after all, and they will act accordingly. But from an unprecedented vaccine hunt to international manufacturing deals, the drug industry¡¯s response shows the possibilities of what a more collaborative medicine market could bring.
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