Industry must not be allowed to block sharing of knowledge for medicines and vaccines
Within a year of the first reported covid-19 cases, effective vaccines were approved in Europe and North America using technology that would win the Nobel prize.12 Yet just 1% of all vaccines produced in the first year went to low income countries.3 Much the same happened in the early years of HIV treatment. Breakthrough antiretroviral therapy slashed mortality in high income countries, but drugs were priced out of reach for people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America until intellectual property and production barriers were overcome and generic versions arrived.4 In both cases, remarkable scientific victory was undermined by similarly remarkable equity failure. The pandemics were prolonged, took many more lives, and had highly unequal impacts because of inequitable distribution.567
In the wake of covid-19, governments are negotiating a treaty (accord) to create an international legal framework for sta
Building on previous declarations and other precedents, all three UN Member States should make bold commitments to protect vulnerable populations, embed equitable access terms on publicly funded research, collaborate on delinkage incentives models, and recognize the importance of community-led initiatives.
According to a report by drug pricing experts at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and King’s College Hospital in London, a five-day course of molnupiravir only costs $17.74 to produce. [.]
A five-day course of Merck s experimental COVID-19 drug, molnupiravir, costs $17.74 to produce but the company is charging the Biden administration $712 for the same amount.