US-Germany rift could scupper vaccine patent waiver
By Issam Ahmed with AFP bureaus LISTEN
9 HOURS AGO
India s cremation sites have been overwhelmed by the surge in coronavirus deaths. By Prakash SINGH (AFP)
A bold US bid to waive patents on much-needed coronavirus vaccines was strongly opposed by Germany on Thursday, threatening to derail the proposal that requires the consensus of World Trade Organization members to pass.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla meanwhile told AFP his company was not at all in favor of the measure, insisting intellectual property is not the main roadblock to more production and that building new plants would be counterproductive.
Support grows for vaccine patent waiver
jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
by Tyler Durden
Friday, May 07, 2021 - 02:29 PM
Now that Germany has broken with the US over the question of whether to back a waiver for COVID vaccine IP that s been proposed at the WTO, pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer that were planning on COVID-19 vaccines becoming a permanent revenue stream are seeing their opportunities for profit threatened. The proposal would require the support of other major developed nations to pass, and it s unclear whether it will or not. But if it does, pharmaceutical companies who see their IP compromised would have limited options for recourse.
Matthew Howell, an IP attorney at Alston & Bird in Atlanta told Bloomberg that companies like Pfizer and Moderna might sue the US to recover some of their losses. Since manufacturing the vaccine is done in the US, the companies could take certain avenues for compensation in American courts. But that would likely only cover a fraction of their potential losses.
POLITICO
Get the Morning Energy newsletter
Email
Sign Up
By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Presented by Honda
With help from Ben Lefebvre, Eric Wolff, Kelsey Tamborrino, Alex Guillén and Catherine Boudreau.
Editor’s Note: Morning Energy is a free version of POLITICO Pro Energy s morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
Germany Says Patent Protection Must Remain on Covid Vaccines © Provided by News18 Germany Says Patent Protection Must Remain on Covid Vaccines
A bold US bid to waive patents on much-needed coronavirus vaccines was strongly opposed by Germany on Thursday, threatening to derail the proposal that requires the consensus of World Trade Organization members to pass.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla meanwhile told AFP his company was “not at all” in favor of the measure, insisting intellectual property is not the main roadblock to more production and that building new plants would be counterproductive.
Rich nations have faced accusations of hoarding shots while poor countries struggle to get inoculation programs off the ground, with the virus surging across the developing world in contrast to the easing of restrictions in Europe and the United States.
vimarsana © 2020. All Rights Reserved.