Published 13:38 IST, March 17th 2020
Coronavirus vaccine: Hoffenheim owner rejects Donald Trump's lucrative privatization offer
Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp's pharmaceutical company CureVac, recently rejected an offer from Donald Trump for exclusive rights to the Covid-19 vaccine.
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Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp believes the Covid-19 vaccine could be available by Autumn. Hopp, who is the primary investor in the German pharmaceutical company CureVac, recently rejected an offer from US President Donald Trump for providing the United States with exclusive rights to the Covid-19 vaccine. The Coronavirus outbreak has impacted Germany which has seen all major sporting events across the globe get cancelled.
Coronavirus pandemic: Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by Autumn says Hoffenheim Owner Dietmar Hopp
Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp believes that his company CureVac will be ready with the Covid-19 vaccine by Autumn. Hopp, speaking to Sport1, said that CureVac has been in the headlines during the battle against Coronavirus and have been developing a Covid-19 vaccine. When asked about when the Covid-19 vaccine would be available, the Hoffenheim owner said that it would depend on the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute. Hopp added that the Covid-19 vaccine has to be tested first with animals and then with human beings. However, he thinks it could be available in autumn at the time when possibly the next wave of Coronavirus infections will come.
Coronavirus pandemic: Dietmar Hopp rejects privatisation offer from Donald Trump
The Covid-19 vaccine has already stirred up controversy with many German media outlets reporting that US President Donald Trump is keen to secure many German scientists to work on the Coronavirus cure. It is reported that Donald Trump offered CureVac 'lots of money' to make the vaccine exclusively available to the people of the US. However, Hopp rejected the offer and said if the vaccine is successful and is made available, it will not be privatised and should be available on a wide scale. There have been more than 169,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, with a death toll in excess of 6,500.
German officials alarmed over what they see as Trump's aggressive 1bn US$ bid to take over Tübingen-based biopharmaceutical company Curevac to secure possible COVID19 vaccine "just for US". Officials to offer incentives to Curevac & consider blocking sale.https://t.co/SByVxMzs72 pic.twitter.com/E7YEtzSDRE
— Thorsten Benner (@thorstenbenner) March 15, 2020
and this is then used exclusively in the USA. That’s completely out of the question.”
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) March 16, 2020
Sport 1: “What was the nature of your contact with the US President?”
Hopp:”I personally didn’t speak to Mr Trump. He spoke to the company who then told me & asked what I thought.”
13:38 IST, March 17th 2020