Protesters demanding that AstraZeneca share its Covid-19 vaccine technology have held a loud demonstration outside the pharmaceutical firm’s Cambridge headquarters.
A protester, who held held a sign which read “human life not profit,” chained himself to a door while others climbed on to the roof of the entryway and unfurled a banner which read “people’s vaccine not profit vaccine”.
Supporters played drums during the protest organised by Global Justice Now, which is calling for the British-Swedish company to commit to sharing the technology with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Uniformed officers could be seen nearby.
Protesters gather outside AstraZeneca’s HQ in Cambridge (Luciana Guerra/PA)
Protesters demanding that AstraZeneca share its Covid-19 vaccine technology have clashed with police outside the pharmaceutical giant s headquarters.
A group of mostly young activists blocked the entrance to the firm s main building in a Cambridge business park.
The protestors are accusing the pharmaceutical company of profiting during the pandemic and to demand the jab is openly licensed and shared with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
One protester holding a sign reading human life not profit , chained himself to a door while others climbed on to the roof of the entryway and unfurled a banner which read people s vaccine not profit vaccine .
AstraZeneca protest: Reports of arrests as police shout step back in scuffle with protesters
One video from the scene appears to show protesters scuffling with police
14:52, 11 MAY 2021
Updated
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Several people have been arrested after things turned heated at a protest at Cambridge s AstraZeneca headquarters today (May 11), according to reports from the scene.
Why protesters are rallying outside AstraZeneca s Cambridge headquarters
The Cambridge pharmaceutical company has refused to share its vaccine technology with the world
Updated
A vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. (Image: PA)
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Protesters are gathering outside AstraZeneca’s Cambridge headquarters today to demand the pharmaceutical firm drops the life-saving patent on its Covid-19 vaccine technology.
CambridgeLive reports that there are around 80 protestors at the headquarters. Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said: “Scientists at Oxford University, a publicly-funded institution, developed this lifesaving vaccine through a research and development process that was 97 per cent publicly funded. “The resulting vaccine should have been openly accessible to everyone, but AstraZeneca swooped in and privatised it. “The UK is reaping the benefits of the highly effective vaccines that are now available, but people in low and middle-income countries are still dying daily by the thousands from Covid-19. “AstraZeneca like to portray themselves as the good guys, but they’ve boycotted attempts to pool the vaccine knowledge they control just like all the other Pharma giants – and now claim they have no time to share this knowledge globally.