Oxford University surprised and pleased advocates of overhauling the vaccine business in April by promising to donate the rights to its promising coronavirus vaccine to any drugmaker.
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A few weeks later, Oxford—urged on by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—reversed course. It signed an exclusive vaccine deal with AstraZeneca that gave the pharmaceutical giant sole rights and no guarantee of low prices—with the less-publicized potential for Oxford to eventually make millions from the deal and win plenty of prestige.
Source: They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma | Kaiser Health News
Additional Source (update): Covid: Rich states ‘block’ vaccine plans for developing nations