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Patent protection barriers not holding back vaccine production: drug groups say
Reuters | Mar 09, 2021 08:47 PM EST A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine sticker in this illustration taken, (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo)
Manufacturing capacity and ingredients shortages are the main bottlenecks to expanding COVID-19 vaccine production, several global drug groups said on Tuesday, not patents that some critics are demanding be removed. IP (intellectual property) rights is not the issue, said Thomas Cueni, who heads the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA).
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Like Us on Facebook The bottlenecks are the capacity, the scarcity of raw materials, scarcity of ingredients, and it is about the know-how.
March 10, 2021 | 12:26 pm Font Size
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ZURICH â Manufacturing capacity and ingredients shortages are the main bottlenecks to expanding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine production, several global drug groups said on Tuesday, not patents that some critics are demanding be removed.
âIP (intellectual property) rights is not the issue,â said Thomas Cueni, who heads the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA).
âThe bottlenecks are the capacity, the scarcity of raw materials, scarcity of ingredients, and it is about the know-how.â
Mr. Cueni, who represents large drugmakers, spoke after a virtual meeting organized partly by the World Health Organization-backed COVAX vaccine sharing program. It included manufacturers, suppliers, and international organizations seeking to boost vaccine supplies.
By John Miller ZURICH (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization (WTO) council is meeting this week to discuss a proposal by India and South Africa that COVID-19 vaccine patents be suspended to speed up technology transfers to manufacturers with spare production capacity. The idea seems simple, but some experts say it s not so clear cut. Below we lay out the reasons. WHAT S BEING DISCUSSED? In October, India and South Africa proposed suspending provisions of the WTO s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (IP) Rights, or TRIPS, contending they hinder the COVID-19 fight and curb access to drugs. Some 100 nations have expressed support, as has Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
A World Trade Organization (WTO) council is discussing a proposal by India and South Africa that COVID-19 vaccine and other medical patents be suspended to speed up technology transfers to manufacturers with spare production capacity.