It's wild and bad that Biontech tried to get public mentions of #CTAP, a @WHO housed initiative to pool intellectual property, scrapped as "vaccine misinformation".

This is not the pharma's first bizarre anti-generics campaign. A quick bit of history.🧵1/

https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1615013698267148289

https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1615008625575202818

My 'favourite' absurd anti-generics lobbying story is the time PhRMA commissioned a novel about why generic medicines were bad.

It never was published because even the paid ghostwriters wouldn't take it as far as PhRMA wanted.

I wrote abt it here ⬇️2/

https://twitter.com/mellabarb/status/1487199600754712577

Jan 2023 #Paxlovid costing update:🧵

9 months later, no real news.
❌generic supply is still not widely available
❌Pfizer is refusing to expand licensing
🥴no trial data on how it works in key populations

Updated cost-based estimated generic price: $15
scholar.harvard.edu/melissabarber/…

https://twitter.com/mellabarb/status/1511816027478401027

Here's the top-line summary, using current prices of API traded in global markets.

#Paxlovid is $530 in the US. It has been reported that in China right now, desperate people have been paying as much as $7,000 to get it for their loved ones. 2/
reuters.com/business/healt…

I saw videos I posted retweeted out of context, so I want to be clear abt a few things.

What has happened this week is pharma's failure to show up & be transparent abt contracts and pricing has fanned the flames of of distrust about vax effectiveness.

That's a problem.🧵1/5

https://twitter.com/rachelschraer/status/1580226291214667776

I encourage folks to read the linked tweet (above) on the transmission q.

I really wish MEPs had the opportunity to pose questions to someone who had been involved in the R&D side of things rather than the business side of things so their questions could have been answered. 2/5

To sum up today's @Europarl_EN hearing w/@Pfizer on #COVID19 vaccines:

1) member states are furious by the lack of transparency & #SMSgate
2) @AlbertBourla miscalculated that this was something he could skip.
3) The committee is ready to recommend consequences

Summary in 🧵1/ I don't usually do full 🧵 detailing hearings (apologies in advance), but what happened yesterday was pretty extraordinary and I think will be important in setting the course for ongoing future pandemic planning.

You can watch the full hearing here: multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreamin… 2/

Pharma is really good at creating narratives with half-truths (or just outright lies) that narrow the policy space to their desired outcome.

So good that even @jacobin- a rare US socialist magazine-has accidentally repeated a few of their greatest hits. A (gentle) correction 🧵1

https://twitter.com/jacobin/status/1554863412772945920

Let's unpack this:

"The sheer complexity of insulin production makes it financially unviable for generic companies. Thus, instead of generic insulin, we speak of biosimilar insulin — a biosimilar is a biologic drug that is extremely similar but not identical to the original." 2

Are you a pharma company who just put up a 🏳️‍🌈logo but have not yet announced meaningful efforts to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people?

To help you really celebrate this #PrideMonth #Pride2022 right here's a🧵of some actionable ideas you can implement this month. (1/11) Sky high prices for insulin mean that people are rationing and dying because they cannot afford it.
-jamanetwork.com/journals/jamai…
-t1international.com/access-survey/

LGBTQ+ ppl are disproportionately affected bc discrimination-> poverty + job discrimination
williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/l… (2/11)