Canada says it did not violate WHO anti-tobacco treaty with Medicago COVID-19 partnership

Health Canada says it did not violate a treaty it signed with the World Health Organization by backing a Quebec-based COVID-19 vaccine producer with links to the tobacco industry.

Canada approved the new Covifenz vaccine from Medicago last month, making it the first country to do so. However, efforts by the Quebec-City based biopharmaceutical company to authorize the drug for use in other countries were sidetracked this week after a WHO official said it was "very likely" it will not be approved for emergency use due to Medicago being partly owned by cigarette maker Philip Morris International.

Mariângela Simão, WHO’s assistant director-general for drug access, vaccines and pharmaceuticals, cited the organization's drug control treaty banning "engagement" with tobacco companies during a media briefing Wednesday where she announced approval of Covifenz was put on hold.

“It's well known the WHO and the UN have a very strict policy regarding engagement with the tobacco and arms industry, so the process is put on hold. It's very likely it won’t be accepted for emergency use listing," Simão told reporters.

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Canada is one of the 182 signatories of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, signed in 2005, which calls on members to protect public health policies "from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law."

In a statement to CTV News, Health Canada said it stands by its investment in Medicago's vaccine and that the agreement was not violated.

"The Government of Canada has studied the matter of its investment in Medicago carefully and considers that it is compliant with its treaty obligations related to tobacco control under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco (FCTC)," wrote Health Canada spokesperson Mark Johnson.

"The FCTC requires Parties to the Convention to specifically protect 'public health policies with respect to tobacco control' from 'commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.' As such, the FCTC does not preclude the Government of Canada from working with Medicago on vaccine development and procurement to ensure that a ready and effective supply of vaccines is available for its population."

Whether the WHO will reverse its decision remains to be seen, but in the meantime Health Canada said it is prepared to share its review on Covifenz and said it will "support authorization in other countries, as well as enable other countries’ access to Covifenz vaccine supplies that may become available in the coming months."

Medicago said Wednesday it believed the WHO's decision was based on the company's shareholders "and not the demonstrated safety and efficacy profile of our COVID-19 vaccine." 

Philip Morris Investments, a subsidiary of Philip Morris International, has been a shareholder of Medicago since 2008 and owns about one third of the company, according to the Swiss-American cigarette manufacturing company's website. The Japan-based Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation is the majority shareholder of Medicago.

The federal government announced a $173 million deal in 2020 to help Medicago develop the vaccine and expand its production facility. The government also bought the rights to 76 million doses of Covifenz pending its approval in Canada.

GlaxoSmithKline parntered with the company to use plant-based proteins to make the unique vaccine, which Health Canada said was 71 per cent effective against symptomatic infection and 100 per cent effective against severe disease caused by COVID-19 when it approved it.