The Business of Vaccine$ is a data, research, and journalism project by PODER to provide transparent information on pharmaceutical companies producing vaccines and oral treatments for COVID-19. The project illustrates the mechanisms through which large pharmaceutical companies capture decision-making on health policy, placing their profits before human rights. The project’s primary goal is to raise awareness of corporate capture in the case of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
Following the methodology developed by PODER, which consists of corporate intelligence, following the money, horizontal and vertical analysis of strategic industries, data analysis, and the use of technologies for transparency, we present data on pharmaceutical companies that have developed COVID-19 vaccines with emergency use authorization in at least one country. We also document the lack of transparency in Mexico’s authorization, procurement, and vaccine access. We use public and private sources of information on pharmaceutical companies. Public information on contracts, emergency use authorizations, clinical trials, and budgeting for the national vaccination strategy in Mexico was obtained from the National Transparency Platform. Lastly, global data from providers, purchase agreements, and developers was obtained thanks to collaboration with UNICEF. It was updated as of May 2023 and found on the UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard. The data that feeds the microsite are available at the Database of companies, owners, and contracts and UNICEF database.
The Route of Vaccine$ (2023) is a cartographic representation of information from purchase agreements entered into worldwide by the pharmaceutical companies with which Mexico has signed contracts to acquire COVID-19 vaccines or from which it has received them through donations. Points of origin are the countries where each contract’s production facilities are located, and destinations are the countries that signed purchase agreements. All versions of the COVID-19 vaccines that each firm sold are included. This time, we did not include in the map contracts with organizations, like those signed with the firms by the African Union, the European Union, COVAX, and UNICEF, due to a need for more information on destination countries. The database is updated through May 2023 and was obtained thanks to a collaboration with UNICEF; it can be consulted at the UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard. Also, information was added for production points in the United States for Pfizer, using as reference information from the company’s annual report and the article How Pfizer makes its Covid-19 vaccine.
The project uses the Tower Builder system, created by PODER, to create websites to visualize data on contracts and beneficial owners. It is intended to follow the money in extensive purchasing processes and has been used previously to monitor large government projects like TorreDeControl and IMSS public purchases.
Research: Daniel Castrejón, Diana Silva and Samantha Camacho
Cartography: Samantha Camacho
Development: Marisol Carrillo
Journalism: Ricardo Balderas
Editorial design and illustration: Adrián Sánchez Martínez
Social Media: Mariela Álvarez Alatriste
External Communications: Paulina Souza
Project Director: María Julieta Lamberti
Co-Executive Directors: Elena Arengo and Fernanda Hopenhaym
Research: Daniel Castrejon, Diana Silva, Maria Julieta Lamberti, Samantha Camacho, and Salma Valdes
Data analysis: Queletzu Aspra
Cartography: Samantha Camacho and Queletzu Aspra
Development: Marisol Carrillo
Editorial design and illustration: Adrian Sanchez Martinez
Social media: Mariela Alvarez Alatriste
External Communication: Miguel Soto
Project Director: Maria Julieta Lamberti
Co-Executive Director: Elena Arengo and Fernanda Hopenhaym