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Vaccine IPR waiver may end up being just US posturing By Liu Hui | China Daily | Updated: 2021-05-19 07:21 Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, international organizations, such as the United Nations, and developing countries have been calling on Big Pharma to waive intellectual property protection for COVID-19 vaccines, so as to increase vaccine production and ensure equitable vaccine distribution across the world. Under increasing international pressure, the Joe Biden administration announced on May 5 that it supports temporarily lifting IP pr...

consensus among member states. The European Commission said it would begin discussions on waivers but Germany, home to BioNTech, the firm that created the vaccine being marketed by Pfizer, said it opposed a waiver because “the protection of the intellectual property is a source of innovation and must remain so”. However, the Indian government has taken a different line domestically: At a hearing in India’s Supreme Court this month, the court asked the government whether it intended to issue any compulsory licenses to companies to manufacture drugs like remdesivir that are being used f...

Read more about Patent waver for Covid vaccine without tech transfer won't speed up supply on Business Standard. Intellectual property rights (IPR) on drugs and vaccine formulae give creators an exclusive right over inventions for a certain period of time, and prevent pharmaceutical companies from making it.

The global response to the Covid-19 pandemic has replicated the tragic mistakes of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, dividing the world between those who can access vaccines and treatments, and those who cannot. Today the European Parliament will hold a debate on “Accelerating progress and tackling inequalities towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030”. The human right to health should always take precedence over rules on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This is enshrined in the Doha Declaration and thanks to the mobilisation of activists globally, HIV/AIDS...

If India issues compulsory licences saying it is entitled to do so, it should expect retaliation from abroad