The invitation to Daniel L. Menichella, 50, head of the Tübingen-based biotech company Curevac, came at the weekend. It was one of those invitations that you can hardly refuse, because the schedule may be so full and the way still so far. US President Donald Trump had asked the White House in Washington for Monday to talk to pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry executives about the new Coronavirus SARS – CoV-2 and about strategies to quickly develop vaccines and therapies against the lung disease Covid-19. On the Internet there is a Video of the meeting. It’s a big challenge, Trump says in it and then praises himself for a long while. His government is making unprecedented efforts to protect the inhabitants. The president himself is using this crisis for the election campaign. It is important to bring production back to the United States, he says. “We want to do certain things at home.”Trump flatters the managers. That was different. Even before his inauguration in 2017, he had insulted the pharmaceutical industry because of high drug prices.

Prices are not an issue this Monday at the White House. At the table sits everything that has Rank and name in the pharmaceutical industry. Emma Walmsley, head of the British pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Kline, Daniel O’day, head of the US group Gilead Sciences, Mikael Dolsten, head of research at the “proud American company Pfizer”, Paul Stoffels, head of research at the US group Johnson & Johnson. Menichella is the only representative of a German company. He thanks everyone for the invitation and tells us what Curevac can do. “We believe that we can develop a vaccine against Covid-19 very, very quickly,” says Menichella. The men from the industry sound in the Video as if they are applying for an attractive job. They seem a little submissive, most of them talk fast.

The managers know what Trump wants to hear

The development of a vaccine is also a test of strength for companies. Who delivers the best product fastest? Curevac has been looking for a vaccine based on its mRNA technology since January. The” m ” stands for Messenger, and the RNA for ribonucleic acid. The mRNA vaccine provides the body with the blueprint for a Coronavirus protein. It is built in the body and triggers an immune reaction, the body fights itself and produces antibodies against the attacker.

Daniel L. Menichella has been working for Curevac since the beginning of 2017, replacing co-founder Ingmar Hoerr as CEO in 2018. It is never easy to follow a founder as an employee Manager. And Menichella is a business economist, not a natural scientist like Hoerr. So this is now also a test for him. Prior to his appointment as CEO, the American managed the Curevac business in the USA, commuting between Boston and Tübingen. One of his direct competitors also sits at the table, such as Stéphane Bancel, head of the US company Moderna Therapeutics. She has developed the vaccine mRNA-1273, which will be tested on humans in the next few weeks. According to Curevac, it works with several vaccine candidates. Clinical trials could begin with one in June, says Menichella. Even if it is accelerated, it can still take months before approval. It is these schedules that Trump asks for above all else. Curevac has sufficient production capacity to produce the vaccine itself and does not need partners, says Menichella. The managers know what the president wants to hear.

Transcript of White House meeting.

Source.

Translated by Yandex.