logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2021
24m 39s

Sick Money (Pt 2): How Big Pharma made a...

THE TIMES
About this episode

The second of two episodes this week, taking a deep dive into the pharmaceutical industry.

Big drug companies have won plaudits for their work producing Covid vaccines within a year of the start of the pandemic. How much money are they making from them? And why are vaccines for other emerging diseases not being produced?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.

Guest: Billy Kenber, investigations reporter, The Times.

Host: David Aaronovitch.

Clips: BBC, National Geographic, PBS, Voice of America.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Porn, strangulation and the law
<p>A recent survey revealed that more than half of 16 to 34-year-olds have taken part in strangulation during sex, despite the risks of a loss of consciousness and stroke. Many feel a rise in choking in pornography is to blame, a practice the UK government is set to ban. Baroness ... Show More
31m 8s
Yesterday
Is the trad wife dream ending in divorce? - The Sunday Story
<p>Across the Deep South, women raised to believe marriage was their destiny are now walking out, challenging the religious, cultural and political pressures that have shaped their lives. Meanwhile, the booming 'trad wife' movement, championed by conservative powerhouses like the ... Show More
28m 51s
Nov 22
The world's first AI actress and 'her' creator - the Saturday story
<p>Tilly Norwood, the world's first 'AI actress' has rocked Hollywood, sparking union protests and denounced by actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, George Clooney and Emily Blunt. For some she's a threat to the artform, for others an inevitability. She'll never forget her lines, turn ... Show More
18m 4s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
The State of the Pandemic
<p>The coronavirus seems to be in retreat in the United States, with the number of cases across the country down about 25 percent compared with a couple of weeks ago. Hospitalizations and deaths are also falling.</p><p>So, what stage are we in with the pandemic? And how will deve ... Show More
19m 20s
Mar 2021
The Jab: Will there be enough vaccines?
It is one thing to design and test covid-19 vaccines. It is another to make them at sufficient scale to generate the billions of doses needed to vaccinate the world’s population. How are the vaccines produced, why is production so variable and will it meet demand this year? We sp ... Show More
40m 6s
Mar 2021
Can Bill Gates Vaccinate the World?
<p>When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Microsoft founder Bill Gates was the most powerful and provocative private individual operating within global public health.</p><p>Today, we look at the role he has played in public health and his latest mission: procuring Covid-19 vaccin ... Show More
31m 13s
Dec 2020
Why Did the U.S. Turn Down Vaccine Doses?
<p>From the start of the pandemic, the Trump administration said it was committed to ordering and stockpiling enough potential vaccine doses to end the outbreak in the United States as quickly as possible.</p><p>But new reporting from The Times has revealed that Pfizer, the maker ... Show More
25m 38s
Dec 2020
Vaccino (with an extra shot)
A great day for science, a bad day for Covid-19. As the first Pfizer vaccines are given to patients in the UK, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine publishes its data. Adam and Fergus chat to virologist Dr Elisabetta Groppelli about how the rollout might go - and learn some Italian whi ... Show More
31m 9s
Jul 2021
Do We Need a Third Covid Shot?
<p>The rise of the Delta variant has prompted a thorny question: Do we need a booster dose of the vaccine for Covid-19? Vaccine makers think so, but regulators are yet to be convinced.</p><p>Principles are also at stake: Should richer countries be talking about administering extr ... Show More
22m 14s
Mar 2021
The State of Vaccinations
<p>The United States has never undertaken a vaccination campaign of the scale and speed of the Covid-19 program. Despite a few glitches, the country appears to be on track to offer shots to all adults who want one by May 1.</p><p>We look at the ups and downs in the American vacci ... Show More
26m 42s
Dec 2020
The Beginning of the End of the Pandemic
<p>In Britain, news that the country had become the first to start administering a fully tested coronavirus vaccine was met with hope, excitement — and some trepidation.</p><p>Amid the optimism that normal life might soon resume, there is also concern. Has the vaccine been develo ... Show More
22m 18s
Nov 2020
A Vaccine Breakthrough
<p>It’s a dark time in the struggle with the coronavirus, particularly in the United States, where infections and hospitalizations have surged.</p><p>But amid the gloom comes some light: A trial by the drug maker Pfizer has returned preliminary results suggesting that its vaccine ... Show More
24m 29s
Jul 2021
The anti-vax influencer plot that flopped
Who was behind a secret plot to pay social media stars to falsely discredit the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine?Trending investigates an attempt to weaponise the power of influencer marketing in the online disinformation war over the pandemic.In May this year a marketing agency contac ... Show More
18m 23s