Investors threaten drug maker bonuses over vaccine access

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A dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is prepared in a vaccination centre at Newmarket RacecourseImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

Investors want four of the biggest coronavirus vaccine manufacturers to make access fairer

A large coalition of investment firms want the bosses of coronavirus vaccine makers to have their bonuses withheld if they fail to improve product distribution.

This could guarantee a "more equitable" global circulation of the vaccine, said Rogier Krens chief investment officer of Achmea Investment Management.

Drug makers said they are making sure lower income countries have access.

Over nine billion doses have been administered worldwide.

Mr Krens said that the group of 65 companies, which collectively control almost $3.5tn (£2.59tn) in assets, believes that vaccines are "not distributed fairly at the moment".

Overall, China and India have administered the highest number of doses, with nearly three billion and 1.5 billion respectively.

The US is third, with more than 500 million. Many poorer countries are relying on deliveries from Covax, a scheme led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, together with the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is trying to ensure everyone in the world has access to a Covid vaccine. So far the scheme has distributed more than 900 million vaccines.

"What we're asking the companies to do is to tie their remuneration policy and strategy to a more equitable distribution of the vaccine," Mr Krens explained.

If they don't commit to a fairer distribution, he said the groups first step will be to vote against any remuneration proposals that don't take this into consideration.

Asked if that means trying to withhold bonuses if the concerns aren't addressed, Mr Krens, replied "effectively yes".

Image caption,

Executive pay at vaccine makers should be linked to distribution, says Rogier Krens of Achmea Investment Management

Figures collated by Our World in Data - a collaboration between Oxford University and an educational charity, show that many of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates are lower income African nations such as Burundi, DR Congo and Chad. Meanwhile, those at the top of the list are wealthier countries such as the UAE, Portugal and Brunei.

Last week the head of the World Health Organisation reiterated the importance of vaccines in ending the pandemic. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu warned against "narrow nationalism and vaccine hoarding", and added that if "we end inequity, we end the pandemic".

Global vaccine rollout

Scroll table
World
61
12,120,524,547
China
87
3,403,643,000
India
66
1,978,918,170
US
67
596,233,489
Brazil
79
456,903,089
Indonesia
61
417,522,347
Japan
81
285,756,540
Bangladesh
72
278,785,812
Pakistan
57
273,365,003
Vietnam
83
233,534,502
Mexico
61
209,179,257
Germany
76
182,926,984
Russia
51
168,992,435
Philippines
64
153,852,751
Iran
68
149,957,751
UK
73
149,397,250
Turkey
62
147,839,557
France
78
146,197,822
Thailand
76
139,099,244
Italy
79
138,319,018
South Korea
87
126,015,059
Argentina
82
106,075,760
Spain
87
95,153,556
Egypt
36
91,447,330
Canada
83
86,256,122
Colombia
71
85,767,160
Peru
83
77,892,776
Malaysia
83
71,272,417
Saudi Arabia
71
66,700,629
Myanmar
49
62,259,560
Chile
92
59,605,701
Taiwan
82
58,215,158
Australia
84
57,927,802
Uzbekistan
46
55,782,994
Morocco
63
54,846,507
Poland
60
54,605,119
Nigeria
10
50,619,238
Ethiopia
32
49,687,694
Nepal
69
46,888,075
Cambodia
85
40,956,960
Sri Lanka
68
39,586,599
Cuba
88
38,725,766
Venezuela
50
37,860,994
South Africa
32
36,861,626
Ecuador
78
35,827,364
Netherlands
70
33,326,378
Ukraine
35
31,668,577
Mozambique
44
31,616,078
Belgium
79
25,672,563
United Arab Emirates
98
24,922,054
Portugal
87
24,616,852
Rwanda
65
22,715,578
Sweden
75
22,674,504
Uganda
24
21,756,456
Greece
74
21,111,318
Kazakhstan
49
20,918,681
Angola
21
20,397,115
Ghana
23
18,643,437
Iraq
18
18,636,865
Kenya
17
18,535,975
Austria
73
18,418,001
Israel
66
18,190,799
Guatemala
35
17,957,760
Hong Kong
86
17,731,631
Czech Republic
64
17,676,269
Romania
42
16,827,486
Hungary
64
16,530,488
Dominican Republic
55
15,784,815
Switzerland
69
15,759,752
Algeria
15
15,205,854
Honduras
53
14,444,316
Singapore
92
14,225,122
Bolivia
51
13,892,966
Tajikistan
52
13,782,905
Azerbaijan
47
13,772,531
Denmark
82
13,227,724
Belarus
67
13,206,203
Tunisia
53
13,192,714
Ivory Coast
20
12,753,769
Finland
78
12,168,388
Zimbabwe
31
12,006,503
Nicaragua
82
11,441,278
Norway
74
11,413,904
New Zealand
80
11,165,408
Costa Rica
81
11,017,624
Ireland
81
10,984,032
El Salvador
66
10,958,940
Laos
69
10,894,482
Jordan
44
10,007,983
Paraguay
48
8,952,310
Tanzania
7
8,837,371
Uruguay
83
8,682,129
Serbia
48
8,534,688
Panama
71
8,366,229
Sudan
10
8,179,010
Kuwait
77
8,120,613
Zambia
24
7,199,179
Turkmenistan
48
7,140,000
Slovakia
51
7,076,057
Oman
58
7,068,002
Qatar
90
6,981,756
Afghanistan
13
6,445,359
Guinea
20
6,329,141
Lebanon
35
5,673,326
Mongolia
65
5,492,919
Croatia
55
5,258,768
Lithuania
70
4,489,177
Bulgaria
30
4,413,874
Syria
10
4,232,490
Palestinian Territories
34
3,734,270
Benin
22
3,681,560
Libya
17
3,579,762
Niger
10
3,530,154
DR Congo
2
3,514,480
Sierra Leone
23
3,493,386
Bahrain
70
3,455,214
Togo
18
3,290,821
Kyrgyzstan
20
3,154,348
Somalia
10
3,143,630
Slovenia
59
2,996,484
Burkina Faso
7
2,947,625
Albania
43
2,906,126
Georgia
32
2,902,085
Latvia
70
2,893,861
Mauritania
28
2,872,677
Botswana
63
2,730,607
Liberia
41
2,716,330
Mauritius
74
2,559,789
Senegal
6
2,523,856
Mali
6
2,406,986
Madagascar
4
2,369,775
Chad
12
2,356,138
Malawi
8
2,166,402
Moldova
26
2,165,600
Armenia
33
2,150,112
Estonia
64
1,993,944
Bosnia and Herzegovina
26
1,924,950
Bhutan
86
1,910,077
North Macedonia
40
1,850,145
Cameroon
4
1,838,907
Kosovo
46
1,830,809
Cyprus
72
1,788,761
Timor-Leste
52
1,638,158
Fiji
70
1,609,748
Trinidad and Tobago
51
1,574,574
Jamaica
24
1,459,394
Macau
89
1,441,062
Malta
91
1,317,628
Luxembourg
73
1,304,777
South Sudan
10
1,226,772
Central African Republic
22
1,217,399
Brunei
97
1,173,118
Guyana
58
1,011,150
Maldives
71
945,036
Lesotho
34
933,825
Yemen
1
864,544
Congo
12
831,318
Namibia
16
825,518
Gambia
14
812,811
Iceland
79
805,469
Cape Verde
55
773,810
Montenegro
45
675,285
Comoros
34
642,320
Papua New Guinea
3
615,156
Guinea-Bissau
17
572,954
Gabon
11
567,575
Eswatini
29
535,393
Suriname
40
505,699
Samoa
99
494,684
Belize
53
489,508
Equatorial Guinea
14
484,554
Solomon Islands
25
463,637
Haiti
1
342,724
Bahamas
40
340,866
Barbados
53
316,212
Vanuatu
40
309,433
Tonga
91
242,634
Jersey
80
236,026
Djibouti
16
222,387
Seychelles
82
221,597
Sao Tome and Principe
44
218,850
Isle of Man
79
189,994
Guernsey
81
157,161
Andorra
69
153,383
Kiribati
50
147,497
Cayman Islands
90
145,906
Bermuda
77
131,612
Antigua and Barbuda
63
126,122
Saint Lucia
29
121,513
Gibraltar
123
119,855
Faroe Islands
83
103,894
Grenada
34
89,147
Greenland
68
79,745
St Vincent and the Grenadines
28
71,501
Liechtenstein
69
70,780
Turks and Caicos Islands
76
69,803
San Marino
69
69,338
Dominica
42
66,992
Monaco
65
65,140
Saint Kitts and Nevis
49
60,467
British Virgin Islands
59
41,198
Cook Islands
84
39,780
Anguilla
67
23,926
Nauru
79
22,976
Burundi
0.12
17,139
Tuvalu
52
12,528
Saint Helena
58
7,892
Montserrat
38
4,422
Falkland Islands
50
4,407
Niue
88
4,161
Tokelau
71
1,936
Pitcairn
100
94
British Indian Ocean Territory
0
0
Eritrea
0
0
North Korea
0
0
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
0
0
Vatican
0
0

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Global economy threat

A fairer distribution of vaccines makes sense from both a humanitarian and financial perspective, according to Mr Krens.

"We definitely feel it's our responsibility to invest in companies that act in a socially responsible way," he said.

When it comes to the money that the group manages for pension funds and other clients Mr Krens explained that a continuation of the pandemic as it's going now, would be a "threat" to the economy and eventually, a threat to their investment returns.

The massive gap in vaccination rates between advanced economies and poorer nations could cost the global economy $5.3tn over five years according to the International Monetary Fund, external.

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

Many people are keen to get coronavirus vaccines, such as these who are queuing up in Malta

The group of investors have voiced their concerns in a letter to the boards of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

In their statement, they highlight the World Health Organisation's roadmap, external which calls for 70% of the population of every country to be vaccinated by the middle of this year.

Media caption,

What went wrong with vaccinating the world? Three experts explain

Manufacturers under pressure

The roadmap calls on vaccine manufacturers to be more transparent about production schedules and to prioritise contracts with Covax and Avat which aim to improve the distribution of vaccines in poorer countries.

Vaccines makers said they are doing what they can to ensure that doses are spread out fairly.

AstraZeneca, which has worked with Oxford University on its vaccine, said it is "producing its COVID-19 vaccine for no profit to low income countries and has distributed most of its supply to low and middle income countries."

Johnson & Johnson said that approximately 60% its COVID-19 vaccines have been shipped to low and middle income countries and that fair access to them has been "at the forefront" of its response to the pandemic. It added that its executive pay strategy "is designed to promote long-term, sustainable value creation".

Moderna and Pfizer haven't responded to requests for comment. However last year, in an open letter , externalPfizer's chief executive Albert Bourla wrote that the biggest restriction on expanding manufacturing was "scarcity of highly specialised raw materials".

Image source, AFP
Image caption,

Companies including Pfizer have spent billions developing coronavirus vaccines

Sharing vaccine knowledge

International political efforts to improve vaccine production and distribution through a wavier of intellectual property rights have stalled. Hopes for an agreement at the World Trade Organisation were dented when it's in person Ministerial Conference was abruptly cancelled in late November.

Achmea's Rogier Krens believes that such a sharing of the vaccine manufacturing know-how has an important role to play in improving vaccine distribution.

Although they have largely resisted so far he said: "We're actually calling actively for the pharmaceutical companies to contribute in that area".

He argued that increasing vaccine supply is crucial to getting more people protected from coronavirus.

Mr Krens said that the coalition of investors can bring about change from the drug makers, even if it doesn't happen overnight, because it's size equates to "quite a strong voice".