Medicago’s plant-based vaccine is “very likely” not to make the World Health Organization (WHO)’s emergency list due to the company’s ties to the tobacco industry..During a press briefing held Wednesday, WHO’s assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, Dr. Mariângela Simão, said the vaccine is unlikely to be accepted for the organization’s list of emergency vaccines..“Due to its connections — it’s owned by tobacco company Philip Morris International — the process is put on hold because it’s well known the WHO and UN have a very strict policy regarding engagement with tobacco and arms industries,” she said. .“It’s very likely that it will not be accepted for emergency list using by WHO.”.Medicago, a Quebec-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 1997 out of an R&D partnership with Laval University and Agriculture Canada, aimed to produce the world’s first plant-based vaccine for human use..Their vaccine, called Covifenz, is comprised of two doses administered 21 days apart. It was approved by Health Canada on February 24..Covifenz is a virus-like particle vaccine, with the main active ingredient being particles that are grown in Nicotiana benthamiana, a close relative of the tobacco plant..In a Thursday statement, Medicago said it has not received any “official communication” from WHO to date..“It is our understanding that this decision is linked to Medicago’s minority shareholder and not the demonstrated safety and efficacy profile of our COVID-19 vaccine,” president and CEO Takashi Nagao said..In July 2021, Medicago announced plans to distance itself from tobacco manufacturing company Philip Morris International, which owns about one-third of the company..On Thursday, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the federal government is monitoring exchanges between WHO and Medicago..“(Innovation, Science and Industry) Minister (François-Philippe) Champagne and I have contacted Medicago to make sure that its contact with WHO is done properly so that everyone, not only here in Canada but elsewhere in the world, can take advantage of this new vaccination that has been approved by Health Canada,” he said..Canada is one of the 182 signatories of the 2005 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls on members to protect public health policies from “commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.”.In a statement, Health Canada said the federal government has “studied the matter of its investment in Medicago carefully and considers that it is compliant with its treaty obligations” related to the WHO framework..Health Canada added WHO’s decision “does not preclude” the federal government from collaborating with Medicago on vaccine development and procurement “to ensure that a ready and effective supply of vaccines is available for its population.”.Matthew Horwood is a parliamentary reporter for the Western Standard based in Ottawa
