The World Health Organization (WHO) has dealt a blow to Quebec-based Medicago after formally rejecting the biopharmaceutical company’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use due to its ties to the tobacco industry.
The recent decision also puts into jeopardy Canada’s efforts to donate its only made-in-Canada vaccine to other countries that need it.
Last week, the WHO announced it had paused the approval of its plant-based Covifenz vaccine because it was concerned by the company’s relationship with cigarette maker Philip Morris International.
The tobacco giant owns one third of Medicago, which has its headquarters in Quebec City.
Medicago said in a written statement to CTV News on Friday the decision to not approve the vaccine was based on the cigarette maker’s shareholder status and not the efficacy of the vaccine, which was approved by Health Canada last month.
“We are aware that the WHO updated Medicago’s vaccine status to ‘not accepted.’ We have received an email which indicated the WHO’s preliminary decision and informed us that official communication outlining the details and rationale would follow. Once we receive this, we will review the rationale and continue to discuss next steps with our partners and shareholders,” said Takashi Nagao, president and CEO of Medicago.
“It is our understanding that this decision is linked to Medicago’s minority shareholder and not the demonstrated safety and efficacy profile of our COVID-19 vaccine. COVIFENZ was approved by Health Canada on February 24, 2022.”
Mariângela Simão, WHO’s assistant director-general for drug access, vaccines and pharmaceuticals, said in a media briefing last week that approving the company’s vaccine would breach its longstanding and “strict” obligation against “engagement” with the tobacco industry.
‘QUITE A WASTE’ TO REJECT VACCINE: RESEARCHER
One researcher who worked on the Medicago clinical trials in Montreal said it was “quite a waste” to snub Medicago because of big tobacco.
“I understand the principle and I understand the reasons why WHO has adopted this kind of policy in general in dealing with tobacco products and tobacco companies. On the other hand, I thought this is not a really practical approach to dealing with a pandemic kind of problem that we have that’s causing a lot of problems around the world,” said Dr. Michael Libman, director of the MUHC Vaccine Study Centre in Montreal’s West Island where the phase two trial took place.
The pandemic is not over yet, especially for countries that have limited access to vaccines, so Libman said getting a variety of approved vaccines to the global market is important to compare their real-life use and determine which one is best suited for certain circumstances.
“I’m not sure that it makes sense to withhold a potentially beneficial product from patients, from the world, because of the principle of not wanting to enrich tobacco companies,” he said, in the hopes that the WHO can start “finding some pragmatic way of dealing with that.”
