A collective effort: How life sciences fought Covid-19 in 2020

EPM editor Reece Armstrong takes a look back at how the life sciences industry came together in 2020 to fight Covid-19. 

It’s fair to say that 2020 has been a tough year. When Covid-19 hit earlier this year, it was difficult to imagine that the virus would still be here come Christmas. Offices emptied as workers were sent home, items flew off shelves as people panic bought goods, and hospital wards filled up with patients who’d contracted a virus that was alien to healthcare workers.

Clinicians came face-to-face with something they didn’t know how to treat. Their usual approach of medicines, therapies and surgical interventions were suddenly not the gold-standard approach they were used to. This simplifies the work of our doctors, nurses, surgeons and everyone else involved in healthcare, but in essence, it’s what they had to deal with when Covid-19 first hit.

It’s easy to be cynical when writing about pharma and life sciences. It’s an amazing industry but one which comes with its own closet full of skeletons; historical scandals, dodgy dealings, lobbying, insider trading, price hikes and patent blocking, to name just a few.

For life sciences to answer the call to Covid-19 this year though has been a rather heartening sight.

Straight away we saw the industry come together in a bid to develop new ventilators for Covid-19 patients. Diagnostic firms began developing and launching polymerise chain reaction (PCR) and antibody testing kits in a bid to better trace the virus. Healthcare groups from all over the globe started making, then donating masks to protect us from the virus. Some firms even managed to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) in an attempt to bolster the reduced supply in the NHS.

In the pharma industry, the race was and is still on to find a promising vaccine for Covid-19. Though it’s easy to argue about firms chasing profits, I truly believe that the people working on these therapies are doing so for the betterment of the world. 

Recently we’ve seen major pharma firms sign up to vaccine sharing schemes, in which lower income countries will be granted access to millions of Covid-19 vaccines once they become available. This isn’t the answer to richer nations pre-purchasing stock of vaccines, but it is an example of the good that can come from collaborations between industry, charities and healthcare organisations. 

So, a note of hope for the end of the year? Possibly. We’re still in the midst of this virus though and caution must still be taken. The life sciences industry has taught us this year that it’s at its best when working together. So, take a lesson. Stay safe, keep others safe and let’s make it into the new year.