Keeping tabs on Covid-19: Debate intensifies over Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver

The disparity in access to Covid-19 vaccines between the developed and developing world remained prominent this week, as Europe and the US inched toward a sense of normality following success roll outs of Covid-19 vaccination programs, while India continued to grapple with a fearsome second wave.

By March 2021, more than half a billion vaccine doses had been administered worldwide, with more than three-quarters of them occurring in the world’s richest countries, The New York Times reported.

In October 2020, India and South Africa were the leading voices in a group of 60 countries to submit a proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property (IP) rights for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments to allow poorer countries to produce the same vaccines without any legal repercussions. At the time, many developing nations were looking to secure manufacturing deals for millions of Covid-19 doses in advance of the vaccine’s approval.

The US and China backs IP agreement

Despite the efforts of more than 100 drug lobbyists working to defeat the IP waiver, the US has supported the action to remove IP protections on Covid-19 vaccines. 

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said: “The [US] administration believes strongly in IP protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the WTO needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.”

Similarly, China Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng remarked: "China supports the WTO's proposal on IP exemptions for anti-epidemic materials such as the Covid-19 vaccine to enter the text consultation stage. China will work with all parties to actively participate in consultations and jointly promote a balanced and effective solution.”

What is the response from the UK and the EU?

European Union (EU) leaders from Greece and Italy praised China and the US for their support of IP removal, however, European Council President Charles Michel said the majority of countries in the EU remain skeptical about the usefulness of waiving IP protections.

In the second day of an EU summit in the Portuguese city of Porto, Michel said the way to fight the pandemic was to produce more vaccines quickly and lift export curbs on them in countries such as the US and the UK.

The UK has promised to donate surplus vaccines to the cause but said it did not have any to spare at the moment.

A spokesperson for the UK government, said: “While we will constructively engage in the IP discussions, we must continue to do all we can and push ahead with action by voluntary licensing agreements for vaccines.”

Waiving patents will not solve India’s immediate crisis, says CEO of Indian pharma firm

Umang Vohra, global CEO of Indian pharmaceutical firm Cipla, said: “I am not so sure that an IP waiver at this stage is something that can solve an immediate problem.

“There should be more partnerships to be able to bring more vaccines into parts of the world that currently do not have that supply.”

While waiving protections may be helpful for long-term cases, Vohra told CNBC that he believed sharing industry skills and know-how about the manufacturing process, as well as and the experiences other pharma companies have had in formulating their vaccine technology, would help short-term supply by providing a template for how vaccines could be distributed.

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