The Biden administration has now agreed to back a proposal to suspend intellectual property protection for COVID vaccines. This is a break from US government’s long-held position on strong intellectual property protection, which has also been supported by many research-intensive countries in western Europe as well and the pharmaceutical industry. These protections are codified in the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreements. India, South Africa, and many other emerging economies have been pushing for a waiver from patent protection, and have been supported in this effort by the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. While the waiver cannot be put into place until other WHO members agree (at which point manufacturers can presumably start production without any licensing agreements), more and more countries that were previously opposed to the deal, including France and New Zealand, are also now indicat
Big Pharma says vaccine patent waiver sets dangerous precedent
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published : 7 May 2021 at 08:45
12 With soaring Covid-19 rates in poorer countries like India, pressure is on for Big Pharma to waive vaccine patent protections.
NEW YORK: Waiving patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines is fiercely opposed by Big Pharma because they say it would set a precedent that could threaten future innovations, and insist the move would not speed up production.
Here are some of the consequences waiving the patent protection on novel coronavirus vaccines could have.
No immediate impact
The vaccine makers say patents are not the key factor impeding faster production.
Friday, 07 May 2021 09:41 AM MYT
Waiving patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines is fiercely opposed by Big Pharma because they say it would set a precedent that could threaten future innovations. Reuters pic
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NEW YORK, May 7 Waiving patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines is fiercely opposed by Big Pharma because they say it would set a precedent that could threaten future innovations, and insist the move would not speed up production.
Here are some of the consequences waiving the patent protection on novel coronavirus vaccines could have.
No immediate impact