The Business of Vaccine$ is a PODER data, research, and journalism project to gather information on the process of authorization, acquisition, and vaccination for COVID-19 and illustrate the mechanisms through which the large pharmaceutical companies capture decision making on health policy placing their profits before human rights. Raising awareness of corporate capture in the case of COVID-19 vaccines is the project’s primary goal.
Following the methodology developed by PODER, which consists of corporate intelligence, following the money, horizontal and vertical analysis of strategic industries, data analysis, and technology 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 the process of authorization, procurement, and access to vaccines in Mexico. 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 obtained from the national transparency platform. Lastly, global data from providers, purchase agreements, and developers was obtained thanks to collaboration with UNICEF, updated as of 03/04/2022 and can be found on the UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard. The data that feed the microsite are available at the: Database of companies, owners, and contracts and UNICEF database
The Route of Vaccine$ 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 understood as the countries where production facilities for each contract are located and destinations as 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 lack of information on destination countries. The database is updated through March 4, 2022, and was obtained thanks to collaboration with UNICEF; it can be consulted at 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 with visualization of data on contracts and beneficial owners. It is intended to follow the money in large purchasing processes and has been used previously for monitoring of large government projects like TorreDeControl and IMSS public purchases.
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