Germany was recently angered by reports that the Trump administration had sought to buy the rights for a Covid-19 vaccine for exclusive use in the United States.

This was first reported by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag on March 15.

Citing unnamed government sources, the newspaper reported that the U.S. had offered US$1 billion to CureVac, a German-based private pharmaceutical firm developing a Covid-19 vaccine, to move its research to the U.S. instead.

According to the source, Donald Trump was doing everything he could to obtain a vaccine "but only for the US."

According to Reuters, a German government source later confirmed that the reports were accurate.

The Guardian reported that German foreign minister Heiko Maas told the Funke Mediengruppe research network that “German researchers are taking a leading role in developing medication and vaccines as part of global cooperation networks,”

“We cannot allow a situation where others want to exclusively acquire the results of their research.”

"Germany is not for sale," said German economy minister Peter Altmaier to broadcaster ARD, according to AFP.

CureVac and the U.S. deny the allegations

CureVac issued a press release on March 15, saying that it "rejects allegations about offers for acquisition of the company or its technology" and refused to comment on speculations.

To make it clear again on coronavirus: CureVac has not received from the US government or related entities an offer before, during and since the Task Force meeting in the White House on March 2. CureVac rejects all allegations from press.

— CureVac (@CureVacRNA) March 16, 2020

On Sunday, CureVac investors said that they would not sell the vaccine to a single state, according to AFP.

The head of its principal investor dievini Hopp Biotech Holding, Dietmar Hopp, said in a statement:

"If we are successful in developing an effective vaccine, then it should help and protect people across the world."

The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, tweeted in support of the pharmaceutical company, saying that the Welt story was false.

https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1239248345329274881

A U.S. official also told AFP on March 15 that the report was "wildly overplayed".

"The U.S. government has spoken with many (more than 25) companies that claim they can help with a vaccine. Most of these companies already received seed funding from US investors."

The official also denied that the U.S. would hoard potential vaccines.

"We will continue to talk to any company that claims to be able to help. And any solution found would be shared with the world."

Europe offers counter-deal

On March 17, Reuters reported that the European Commission hit back with their own deal, though slightly less lucrative, of 80 million Euros to keep CureVac's Covid-19 vaccine development within Europe.

“I am proud that we have leading companies like CureVac in the EU,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Monday. “Their home is here. But their vaccines will benefit everyone, in Europe and beyond.”

Top photo from Donald Trump and CureVac's Facebook pages