PHARMA

Russia Takes the Lead (Maybe)

Vodka and Tolstoy might be losing their status as Russia’s most esteemed exports. Yesterday, President Vladimir Putin announced his government has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine, which will be ready for the public by January. 

And yes, they named it Sputnik-V after the pioneering satellite. 

Not so fast 

Many health officials are worried Russia cut corners. Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute, which developed the vaccine, hasn’t actually finished human trials. 

• The vaccine starts Phase 3 today. That usually involves thousands of participants and a placebo and is typically the final test before approval. 

An association representing clinical trials organizations asked Russia’s health agency on Monday to delay approval until Phase 3 is complete. Nevertheless, Putin was confident enough to inoculate his own daughter, and yesterday Russia’s national health minister said teachers and medical workers will start receiving the vaccine this month. 

Russian officials told CNN they’ve already received applications for 1+ billion doses from 20 countries. 

The great vaccine race

Of the 30+ vaccines in human trials, eight have reached Phase 3. Last month, Russian drugmaker R-Pharm struck a deal to license one of them, co-developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford. 

• The U.S. also has a $1.2 billion licensing deal with AstraZeneca for 300 million doses if it moves it to production.
• Yesterday, the U.S. also agreed to buy 100 million doses of Moderna's potential vaccine. 

Asked about Russia’s news, U.S. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said, "The point is not to be first...the point is to have a vaccine that is safe and effective.” But that hasn’t stopped countries from jockeying to secure first place. 

Last month, the U.S., the UK, and Canada called out Russian intelligence services for hacking researchers and companies working on COVID-19 vaccines (allegations Russia denies). 

Big picture: Rushing to approve a faulty vaccine could undermine public trust. In a recent survey, over one-third of U.S. adults said they wouldn’t get one, even if it’s FDA-approved and free. 

+ While we’re here: A lack of understanding about COVID-19's effects on the immune system makes finding a vaccine a daunting task. The Atlantic’s Ed Yong dives into COVID-19 and immunology.

SPORTS

Big Ten, Pac-12 Call Delay of Game

Yesterday, the NCAA’s Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences announced none of their sports teams, including football, will play this fall over health concerns. They’re hoping to resume play in the spring. 

The announcement further deepens what the NYT calls the "greatest crisis in the history of college athletics."

The backstory: Conferences have been squabbling, not just with one another but among themselves, about whether to play this season. The CDC’s recommendations against close contact discourage it, but many universities rely on football revenues to fund all their other sports. Wisconsin, a Big Ten school, at one point suggested it could lose up to $100 million without a football season. 

• One element that makes those squabbles even squabblier: the NCAA’s decentralized structure, in which each of the conferences can make executive decisions.  

Zoom out: Recently, the fall college football season became a political you-know-what. Republicans such as President Trump and senators from states like Georgia and Nebraska, which are to college football what Lockhart, TX, is to barbecue, joined frustrated players’ and coaches' calls to play the fall season. 

INTERNATIONAL

From the World News Desk

Mauritius: Thousands of volunteers are trying to avert the worst of an ecological disaster following a massive oil spill by a grounded Japanese tanker. The ship is expected to break apart any moment, potentially sending another 2,000 metric tons of petroleum products into the African island’s pristine waters.

Hong Kong: Following the passage of a new security law in China, authorities are targeting members of Hong Kong’s civil society and education system. On Monday, media mogul Jimmy Lai, who runs the pro-democracy paper Apple Daily, was arrested on charges of "colluding with foreign forces." Hong Kong is at the center of deteriorating U.S.-China relations. 

Belarus: Aleksandr Lukashenko won his sixth consecutive term as president, but following allegations of a rigged election, opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya fled to neighboring Lithuania. Protests over Lukashenko's handling of COVID-19, the economy, and human rights came to a head Sunday, when the government imposed a connectivity blackout on Belarus’s 9.5 million residents.

New Zealand: After 102 days without any new domestic cases, New Zealand registered four new COVID-19 patients yesterday. The government is still figuring out the source and has reinstated lockdown measures in Auckland.

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C-SUITE

Go West, Young Finance Whiz

Yesterday, GM said its CFO Dhivya Suryadevara will trade brakes and shocks for lightweight jackets and fixies—she’s departing the iconic automaker for Bay Area fintech juggernaut Stripe. 

For Stripe: It’s a W...for Wunderkind. At 39, Suryadevara became GM’s first female finance chief ever. 

• Stripe, which provides payment processing software to businesses, has finances that seem enjoyable to manage. In April, it raised $600 million at a $36 billion valuation from Silicon Valley heavyweights such as Sequoia Capital. 

For GM: It’s an L...for Large loss. Brain drain is a major issue for the traditional Detroit auto giants, especially with Tesla’s market cap doubling every time you blink. GM has been struggling more generally, with last year’s worker strike and *gestures at everything* in 2020. 

• The company hemorrhaged $9 billion in Q2 when factories shut down because of the pandemic. 

Zoom out: Stripe has been bulking up its leadership team with poaches from Amazon Web Services and now GM, fueling IPO rumors. But the company is playing coy about a future public offering.

AUTO

This Is No Lucid Dream

Electric vehicle startup Lucid’s new sedan, the Lucid Air, is very real. And it can go the distance—independent testing showed the Air can travel 517 miles on a single charge, crowning it one of the longest-range EVs on the market. 

That means you could drive from NYC to Philadelphia, realize you forgot your wallet, go back to get it, drive back to Philly, realize you’re in love with your best friend, drive back to NYC to tearfully reunite with him on the Brooklyn Bridge, then head to a cottage upstate...without having to recharge your EV. 

• It’s about 115 miles farther than Tesla’s highest-range vehicle, the Model S. 

How he built this: CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson (a former Tesla employee) credited Lucid’s high-tech motors, which were created in-house, for the best-in-class range. 

Looking ahead...Lucid will unveil the final version of the Air on Sept. 9, and production is set to start next year. 

+ While we're here: Tesla announced a five-for-one stock split, which doesn't materially change anything about the company's valuation but does make its stock more affordable to individual investors. Shares gained ~7% after hours. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Airbnb is planning to file confidentially for an IPO this month, the WSJ reports. Would be quite the turnaround.
• Small businesses are failing in droves during the pandemic, but we don't know to what extent because the data is scarce. 
• Qualcomm won an appeal in an antitrust case brought by the FTC.
• Facebook removed 22.5 million posts for hate speech last quarter, more than double the number from Q1. 
• Microsoft is delaying the launch of Halo Infinite until 2021.
• The last Blockbuster in the world is now an Airbnb. And Dunkin’ Donuts is launching a...cereal line. 

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BREW'S BETS

A worthy deep dive: "The UX of Lego interface panels." You didn't know you need it, but now you can't live without it. Check it out. 

Lebanon aid: Chef José Andrés's World Central Kitchen is on the ground in Beirut, helping prepare fresh meals for residents and first responders following last week's explosion. You can donate here.

Cancel culture: What is it? Where does it come from? And why are we talking about it now? The NYT's podcast The Daily digs in across two episodes. 

How to describe 2020? Look to fiction. The year summed up in book titles is a good scroll—and yes, Lemony Snicket makes an appearance. 

CAPTION CONTEST

As we roll on with audience participation week, we’re trying something new today: a caption contest. Brew reader (and talented illustrator) Evan Lian has drawn this cartoon, and it’s up to you to come up with a hilarious caption.

Evan Lian

Got it? Share your caption here, and we’ll publish our favorite responses tomorrow.

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