Biopharmaceutical Financialization and Public Funding of Medical Countermeasures (MCMs) in Canada during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Political Science & Public Administration, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

2 Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

3 Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

4 Health Law Institute, Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

5 Health Law Institute and Technoscience & Regulation Research Unit, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

6 Department of Pediatrics, Department of Sociology, & Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

Abstract

Background 
Analysing the Canadian government’s efforts to support the development of COVID-19 “medical countermeasures” (MCMs), this article seeks insights into political economy as a driver of pandemic response. We explore whether Canadian public funding policy during the pandemic involved departures from established practices of financialisation in biopharmaceutical research and development, including the dominance of private sector involvement in an IP intensive approach to innovation underscoring profit, and governance opacity.

Methods 
We interrogate public funding for MCMs by analyzing how much the Government of Canada (GoC) spent, how those funds were allocated, on what terms, and to whom. We identify the funding institutions, and the funds awarded between February 10, 2020, and March 31, 2021, that were allocated to support the research, development, and manufacturing of MCMs, including diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and information about clinical management and virus transmission.  To collect these data, we conducted searches on the Internet, public data repositories, and filed several requests under the Access to Information Act (1985) Subsequently, we carried out a document-based analysis of electronically accessible research contracts, proposals, grant calls, and policy announcements.

Results 
Between February 10, 2020 and March 31, 2021, the GoC announced CAD $1.4 billion for research, development and manufacturing of COVID-19 MCMs. Fully 68% (CAD $ 959 million) of the announced public funding was channelled to investment in private sector firms. Canadian public funding showed a consistent focus on early and late stage development of COVID-19 MCMs and the expansion of biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. Assessing whether Canada’s investments in to developing COVID-19 MCMs safeguard affordable and transparent access to the products of publicly funded research, we found that access policies on intellectual property management, sharing of clinical data, affordability and availability were not systematic, consistent, or transparent, and few, if any, mechanisms ensured long-term sustainability.

Conclusions 
Beyond incremental change in policy goals, such as public investment in domestic biomanufacturing, the features of Canadian public policies endorsing financialization in the biopharmaceutical sector remained largely unchanged during the pandemic.

Keywords

References

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International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 13 March 2023

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  • Receive Date: 11 November 2021
  • Revise Date: 14 February 2023
  • Accept Date: 13 March 2023
  • First Publish Date: 13 March 2023

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