Through a series of data-driven investigations, a cross-border network of news outlets coordinated by Brussels-based journalist Stefano Valentino unveils how Big Pharma has benefited from COVID-19 vaccine deals in Europe.
The first part of the investigation shows that major drugmakers had the European Union over a barrel as countries rushed to procure life-saving jabs.
The team exposed “flaws” in contracts between the European Commission and British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and German biopharmaceutical company Curevac. According to legal experts who scrutinised the documents, the contracts allowed for ambiguous delivery dates and overall uncertainty about the timing of vaccination programmes.
And the third part delves into how EU patent regimes hinder vaccine distribution.
See below for dozens of stories in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German, including in VoxEurop, Il Fato Quotidiano, La Repubblica, Italia Oggi, Domani, El Confidencial, NL Times and Alternatives Equonomiques.
Read an interview with team leader Valentino on the backstory to the investigation.
Read the backstory to ‘The COVID-19 Jackpot’, an investigation supported by IPI’s #IJ4EU fund for cross-border journalism. #MediaEU@M0BILEREP0RTER takes us behind the scenes of EU vaccine procurement. At stake: big profits and human lives. https://t.co/hXydeCg6Ak
— IPI – The Global Network for Press Freedom (@globalfreemedia) March 31, 2021
Cover photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash