Collaboration in times of crisis: A study on COVID-19 vaccine R&D partnerships

Collaboration is central for initiatives and efforts in the race to fight COVID-19, with particular focus on fostering rapid development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. We investigated the types of partnerships that have emerged during the pandemic to develop these products. Using the World Health Organization's list of COVID-19 vaccine developments, we found nearly one third of all vaccine candidates were developed by partnerships, which tended to use next-gen vaccine platforms more than solo efforts. These partnerships vary substantially between materials-transfer partnerships and knowledge sharing partnerships. The difference is important: The type of sharing between partners not only shapes the collaboration, but also bears implications for knowledge and technology development in the field and more broadly. Policies promoting fair and effective collaboration and knowledge-sharing are key for public health to avoid stumbling blocks for vaccine development, deployment, and equitable access, both for COVID-19 and expected future pandemics. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

Collaboration is crucial in the fight against COVID-19, especially in the rapid development of safe and effective vaccines. Partnerships have become a significant means for vaccine development during the pandemic, with nearly one third of vaccine candidates being developed through partnerships using next-gen vaccine platforms. These partnerships vary between materials-transfer partnerships and knowledge sharing partnerships, shaping the collaboration and impacting knowledge and technology development in the field.