Germany’s
foreign minister said Monday the rights to coronavirus vaccine research
were not for sale, following reports Donald Trump wanted the US to buy
exclusive access to a potential vaccine developed by a German biotech
firm.
The
comments, made in an interview to media group Funke, come as scientists
raced to develop a vaccine against the deadly coronavirus that has
killed some 6,000 people, seen millions placed under lockdown and
devastated global markets.
“German
researchers play a leading role in drug and vaccine development and we
cannot allow others to seek exclusive results,” Heiko Maas told Funke.
Citing
sources close to the German government, Die Welt newspaper had
previously reported that Trump had offered “a billion dollars” to secure
research into a vaccine by German biotech firm CureVac “only for the
United States”.
“Germany is not for sale,” economy minister Peter Altmaier told broadcaster ARD on Sunday, reacting to the report.
At a news conference, interior minister Horst Seehofer was asked to confirm the attempts to court the German company.
“I
can only say that I have heard several times today from government
officials today that this is the case, and we will be discussing it in
the crisis committee tomorrow,” he said.
CureVac
said in a statement Sunday that it “abstains from commenting on
speculations and rejects allegations about offers for acquisition of the
company or its technology”.
Fury
The report prompted fury in Berlin.
“International
cooperation is important now, not national self-interest,” said Erwin
Rueddel, a conservative lawmaker on the German parliament’s health
committee.
A US official told AFP Sunday that the report was “wildly overplayed”.
“The
US government has spoken with many (more than 25) companies that claim
they can help with a vaccine. Most of these companies already received
seed funding from US investors.”
The official also denied that the US was seeking to keep any potential vaccine for itself.
“We will continue to talk to any company that claims to be able to help. And any solution found would be shared with the world.”
‘Take action’
CureVac, founded in 2000, is based in the German state of Thuringia, and has other sites in Frankfurt and Boston.
The
firm markets itself as specialising in “development of treatments
against cancer, antibody-based therapies, treatment of rare illnesses
and prophylactic vaccines”.
The lab is currently working in tandem with the Paul-Ehrlich Institute, linked to the German health ministry.
Last
week, the firm mysteriously announced that CEO Daniel Menichella had
been replaced by Ingmar Hoerr, just weeks after Menichella met with
Trump, his vice president Mike Pence and representatives of pharma
companies in Washington.
“We
are very confident that we will be able to develop a potent vaccine
candidate within a few months,” CureVac quoted Menichella as saying on
its website shortly after the visit.
On Sunday, CureVac investors said that they would not sell the vaccine to a single state.
“If
we are successful in developing an effective vaccine, then it should
help and protect people across the world,” said Dietmar Hopp, head of
principal investor dievini Hopp Biotech Holding, in a statement.
Economy minister Altmaier welcomed the statement, saying it was a “fantastic decision”.
He
also pointed out that the government has the power to scrutinise
foreign takeovers, saying that “where important infrastructure and
national and European interests are concerned, we will take action if we
have to.”
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