Though elevated by the pandemic, the reality is that the global and political issue of health inequity has unfortunately always existed and continues to demand our attention.
“Inequitable vaccination is complex and multifaceted. It forces all of us to think outside of the box, to think in a very empathetic way, to understand what issues are specific to different geographies, and then work together to put solutions in place,” said Andrew “Drew” Otoo, doctor of pharmacy and president of global vaccines at MSD.
With over 100 years of experience, MSD has been discovering, developing, and delivering vaccines that have helped transform public health. But part of the work, according to Otoo, is making sure that those innovations go from the manufacturing site to the people who need them most.
During the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023, Devex spoke to Otoo about how his own journey has influenced his work in vaccines, what vaccination means to MSD, and the issue of health inequities, more specifically as it relates to vaccine accessibility.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to be a leader of MSD’s global vaccines business.
My parents were frontline health care workers and I spent the first 10 years of my life in England and the second 10 years in Ghana. I saw firsthand the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases on people. That inspired me to try to do something in my life that could have a really meaningful and lasting public health impact.
At university, I studied to become a pharmacist and entered the pharmaceutical industry where I've been for the last 20 or so years. I joined MSD five years ago to lead an important part of the vaccine portfolio. In 2022, I had the opportunity to become the president of global vaccines at MSD. I'm proud to work alongside very passionate, dedicated, and talented people who are focused on using the power of science to save and improve lives around the world.
The lack of vaccine equity is a global concern. What does equity mean to you and your work at MSD?
Vaccine equity means making sure that everyone, everywhere, and of every age can access appropriate vaccines. A number of the vaccines discovered, developed, and manufactured by MSD are important contributors to public health and vaccination programs around the world. When we think about health equity, we want to aim to ensure that every vaccine we make can get to the people that need it the most; that people can access it and afford it, and that we also think broadly about the geographies and the people we serve across low-, middle-, and high-income countries.
We also recognize that we can't do this by ourselves, so we spend a lot of time focused on working with global and local stakeholders who understand the unique needs of their communities. We spend significant time sharing best practices and convening various stakeholders to share those best practices. We're also working with groups like Meta, where we have an initiative called Advancing Health Online. This initiative is an opportunity for us to understand the role that social media and behavioral science play in vaccine confidence and vaccination equity.
What do you see specifically as MSD’s role in helping to advance health and vaccination equity?
The first, in my opinion, centers around using leading-edge science to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines and vaccines that can help save and improve lives; that's our fundamental purpose.
As a company, we are committed to advancing health equity by reaching 50 million people with our social investments in low- and middle-income countries and underserved populations in high-income countries, including vaccination resources, by 2025. Since 1957, our company’s foundation has contributed nearly $1 billion to support initiatives that address important global health and societal needs.
Vaccination equity is complex and multifaceted. What motivates MSD to keep working in this space?
At MSD, we take the issue of vaccination equity very seriously. It is a consideration throughout our approach to developing and delivering vaccines, starting at the earliest stages of our product development, such as in the conduct of our clinical trials, through to our supply strategies, our support of building resilient immunization programs, and our work to increase confidence in vaccination.
We take specific actions such as conducting clinical trials in more than 50 countries worldwide, and we continue to evolve our recruitment process to achieve appropriate participant representation to help us bring new medicines and vaccines to all people. We’ve made more than $2 billion in capital investments to help increase the supply of certain vaccines to extend access globally, and we collaborate with global health organizations, including Gavi and UNICEF, to make certain vaccines available to more people in low-income markets. We also work with local governments and other stakeholders to increase access to certain vaccines in lower middle-income markets and engage other industry organizations and leaders to support efforts to strengthen immunization programs.
Additionally, we know vaccination equity requires listening, understanding, and responding to the unique needs of the people and communities we serve. To achieve equity, we need to constantly evaluate, recalibrate, and re-imagine how we work.
What works in one community or for one population or demographic might not work elsewhere. In one community, we might need to expand access to vaccines in retail pharmacies to help those working or who have difficulty with transportation to health clinics. In another, we may need to work with trusted messengers to raise awareness and encourage individuals to get vaccinated.
In the end, we are continuously inspired and passionate about finding new ways to bring our vaccines to people and communities everywhere and making them affordable for all regardless of income classification.
As George Merck, MSD’s founder said, “Medicine is for the people” — and that means all the people.
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