IP rights have nothing to do with slow global rollout of vaccines Despite this, some 90 developing nations, led by India and SA, have called for a waiver to suspend all intellectual property rights associated with Covid-19 innovations 17 March 2021 - 05:00 Stephen Ezell Picture: 123RF/SASIRIN PAMAI In the face of a Covid-19 pandemic that has caused 2.6-million fatalities worldwide, life sciences companies have raced to bring forward a wide range of life-saving innovations, including novel diagnostic tests such as that of LumiraDx, which can detect the virus within minutes; therapeutics, such as Gilead Science’s remdesivir; and highly effective vaccines such as those from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson.