$1.5m clinical trial cost delays first local COVID-19 vaccine —FG

The $1.5 million cost of clinical trial is threatening the local production of COVID-19 vaccine as government is unsure of how to secure the money.

The minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who featured at the ministerial media briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, affirmed that a Nigerian researcher has developed a COVID-19 vaccine candidate with a high probability to succeed but the cost of clinical trial has become an obstacle.

While wondering how to secure the $1.5 million needed to fulfill all the stages of the trial, he said government may have to look for sponsors who would recoup their investment when the vaccine is successful. 

Asked about the progress on local vaccine production, he said: “There is no personal interest in this. There are at least two, perhaps even three, Nigerian laboratories that have developed what you call vaccine candidates. 

“In fact, yesterday, we also talked to a fourth Nigerian laboratory, based in Maryland, USA, he has also produced his own vaccine candidate. A vaccine candidate means that you have been able to get the antigen, you have produced something that will work. 

“Now, you have to do what is called the clinical trials; clinical trial means you testing it to make sure that it’s safe and it doesn’t cause a problem. Secondly, that it does what it promises to do; generate antibodies in your system. 

“So, you go through those clinical trials, which are very detailed and they are expensive. 

“One of our researchers here who has produced such a candidate, I asked him, how much do you think you’ll need to go through these clinical trials in three phases? At least $1.5 million. That’s a lot. Do we have that now to test a vaccine? “Well, we say we look for sources where we can get the sponsors, because the sponsorship is what you need. 

“What some people do is that they invest in it and then once you produce the vaccine and it’s successful, they buy it and that means you are done. But if it turns out not to have worked, your money is gone. 

“It’s hard to find a way to sponsor these clinical trials because they are expensive and they have a very good chance of being successful, but some of them also have a good chance of not being strong enough which is the trick of efficacy. The efficacy means how well it works. 

“So, we want to support our own vaccine and do the necessary to make sure they come out, but we are looking for the funds to support and also the necessary technical and whatever other backings that are required to get them to a level where they can… not only shall we be proud, it will be cheaper for us, we can be able to export also. 

“So, we are looking at that, we’re looking for it and that’s in fact our preference. We know that those who are producing a vaccine now, we are at their mercy and I’ve said before that even if you have money now, you may not even get your vaccine.” 

The minister also explained that the reason for the delay in getting the supplementary budget ready for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines is because the government wants to get a clearer picture of the different prices of the available vaccines before submitting a budget. President Muhammadu Buhari was expected to forward a supplementary budget to the National Assembly to provide for funding of the COVID-19 vaccination in the country and make more money available to procure military hardware. But the minister of health said the figures were still in rough stages and would soon be fine-tuned. 

He added: “There are different prices of the vaccines and we don’t really know exactly the one we’re getting. And we also know that the ones we’re getting from COVAX is at no cost to us. So what we’re doing is that the additional ones that we’re going to get will take care of 50 million Nigerians, COVAX will take care of 20 million, they are even offering to take care of more than that, maybe up to 30 million. “The prices vary, some vaccines are in the neighbourhood of $20 or $30, others are $5 or $6. So to really make a budget, we are working on rough sketch, some money have been earmarked. But Mr President has also announced that there will be a supplementary budget, but we want to get a clearer picture before we actually submit a budget. 

Asked to give an idea of a rough figure, Osagie said: “Well, I can’t disclose any figure to you now because it’s not something we can immediately put out because as I said before, the prices are different.

 

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