Even as major pharmaceutical and biotech companies battled to protect patent rights for their Covid-19 vaccines, Hotez was working on another approach: give the recipe away. The result, CORBEVAX, developed with scientist Maria Elena Bottazzi, was authorized for use in India in December 2021 and licensed to Indian biopharmaceutical company Biological E. The non-mRNA vaccine is inexpensive, effective, straightforward to make, and easy to store. Patent-free, CORBEVAX represents a major step toward accelerating worldwide access to vaccines. Hotez is also working on vaccines for hookworm, leishmaniasis, and other overlooked illnesses.
