What are the prospects for vaccine production in countries comparable to Norway? Oslo Economics, in collaboration with the law firm CMS Kluge, has investigated this in a study on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The study looks at Finland, Austria, Portugal and Latvia, countries that are comparable to Norway based on their population size, economic conditions, market size and the size of the countries pharmaceutical industry. The mapping shows that although the authorities in selected European countries have considered measures to establish or scale up vaccine production, few concrete measures have been implemented. The reason for this is:
- Vaccine production is very complex and resource intensive
- It is doubtful whether in-country production will provide better and faster access to vaccines
- Experiences from the ongoing pandemic indicate that countries with vaccine production have not had better and/or faster access to vaccines than countries without vaccine production
- Regulations for state aid and public procurements limit the use of policy measures
The report does not provide assessments or recommendations on the possible use of policy measures in Norway.
The report can be read in Norwegian here.
