Civil society petition in SC for compulsory licence for vaccine, key Covid drugs
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Synopsis
“Covid-19 is a public health emergency and the government is obligated to issue an order of government authorisation under Section 100 or a compulsory licence for non-commercial public use under Section 92(1) of the Patents Act to respond and ensure continued access to the vaccines,” it said in the petition in which the government is the respondent.
Agencies
There is a shortage of Remdesivir, antiviral Favipiravir and immunosuppressant Tocilizumab in India which reported a record 3.86 lakh Covid-19 cases
Civil society organisation Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (Mumbai) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre to issue compulsory licenses for a patent covering the drugs Remdesivir, Tocilizumab and Favipiravir, which are critical in the treatment of Covid-19 and to “rapidly upscale production”.