This is breaking news that is BIG at many levels!

Germany& #39;s BioNTech has signed a manufacturing deal with China& #39;s Fosun to make 1 billion doses/yr of the BT/Pfizer mRNA vax in China.
@himalkk @Jamz5251 @poliohunt @glassmanamanda @yates_rob https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3132834/fosun-pharma-unit-biontech-form-joint-venture-make-1-billion?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=share_widget&utm_campaign=3132834">https://www.scmp.com/business/...

Let me say this—Thank God for the Germans! Let& #39;s pray that the US does not try to scupper this https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙏🏾" title="Gefaltete Hände (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Gefaltete Hände (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)">.

I have been calling for US-China cooperation on vax production. But it ain& #39;t happening and I can& #39;t see the Biden administration ever allowing Pfizer to do this.
@glassmanamanda

Thankfully, BioNTech, which developed the vax (not Pfizer), is German. It gave the sales rights for much of the world to Pfizer, but retained rights for Europe & China for itself. So just as BioNTech partnered with a https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten"> firm to make the vax, it& #39;s now doing the same with https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇳" title="Flagge von China" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von China"> firm.

The deal follows negotiations btwn BTs Turkish-German head & senior Chinese officials. The deal importantly will transfer technology/knowhow from Germany to Fosun. It reminds me how in the old Silk Route, the Islamic world transferred knowhow from China to Europe. @dilinialgama

This is good for the world b& #39;cos it means that global mRNA production will get a 1 billion dose boost, a lot faster than what the Biden admin is just talking about. And the world needs these 95% efficacy vax now, not in 2022 or 2023.

It confirms https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇩🇪" title="Flagge von Deutschland" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Deutschland"> as the only adult in the G7. Merkel pushed back hard on Biden& #39;s WTO move, b& #39;cos she rightly said the urgent problem is technology transfers+production, not patents. She& #39;s right.
@Karl_Lauterbach @dwai_banerjee @GermanyinSL

Somebody told me this is a big https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖕" title="Stinke-Finger" aria-label="Emoji: Stinke-Finger"> to the US—I suspect there& #39;s a kernel of truth in that.
To end this pandemic we need to break this US/G7 Cold War mentality that prevents true global cooperation to save lives. This is one small step towards doing that and doing the right thing.

This is also good news long term. mRNA is wonderful technology & will change medicine. But first we need to make it cheap. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇳" title="Flagge von China" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von China"> was already working on mRNA production, but this will accelerate capacity in the Global South. All capitalists should celebrate the increased competition.