At least nine people involved with companies that develop and manufacture COVID vaccines have become billionaires since the beginning of the pandemic, thanks to the monopoly power of pharmaceutical firms, according to new analysis by global health groups
Pharmaceutical companies oppose the IP waiver — which threatens to lower vaccine prices and cut into profit margins by allowing generic competition — arguing that drug makers need incentives to create vaccines and increasing manufacturing capacity in countries already making vaccines would be faster and more efficient. The pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. spent a record $92 million lobbying lawmakers and federal officials in the first three months of 2021.
){kind=link}