Freedom of Information request on the ingredients and product specifications for the COVID-19 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (FOI 22/476)
Published 31 May 2022
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FOI 22/476
25th February 2022
Dear
Thank you for your email.
Details of the finished product specification for the finished product specifications for any of the vaccines or specifications for any of their ingredients, is exempt from release under S41/S43 of the FOI Act. Details of the manufacturing process is also exempt from release under S41/S43 of the FOI Act.
Section 41 is an absolute exemption and no consideration of the public interest is required, except to state that we consider its disclosure to constitute an actionable breach of confidence.
Section 43 is a qualified exemption and a consideration of the public interest should be made. We have considered the public interest and cannot see any public interest argument that outweighs the commercial harm in giving manufacturing know-how to competitors who can use this information to inform the development of their own products.
We note that you have been asking us for the specifications for a lot of parts of the vaccines. Please find attached previous responses as examples.
If you have a query about the information provided, please reply to this email.
If you disagree with how we have interpreted the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in answering your request, you can ask for an internal review. Please reply to this email, within two months of this reply, specifying that you would like an Internal Review to be carried out.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you were to remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you would have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please bear in mind that the Information Commissioner will not normally review our handling of your request unless you have first contacted us to conduct an internal review. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely
MHRA Customer Experience Centre