Coronavirus vaccines: Europe follows the scenario of …

From Paris. And suddenly there was light, at least a rhetorical glint. The master took the floor and the European countries which until a few weeks ago were opposed to the publication of patents for the Covid-19 vaccine have radically changed their position. Although the United States, along with the European Union, has been the main obstacle to the issuance of patents, the administration ofand Joe Biden starred in a historic twist when, this Wednesday, May 5, the American representative of Foreign Trade, Katherine tai, issued a statement declaring that “this is a global health crisis and the extraordinary circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic require extraordinary measures.” Tai adds that the Administration continues to firmly believe “in the protection of intellectual property, however, in order to end this pandemic, the Administration supports exemption from this protection for covid-19 vaccines.” In October 2020, India and South Africa had asked the WTO (World Trade Organization) for a patent exemption. Argentina and 60 other countries joined in this demand, but the initiative was met with deafness by powers, from Washington to the European Union. The change of position of the United States caused an unusual race on the Old Continent, starting with France and, of course, the European Union. On April 23, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, spoke out against the cancellation of intellectual property patents. Macron, who had vetoed the idea within the WTO, then defended the principle of “sharing the vaccine” and stressed that the central issue was not patents but the transfer of technology. But once the US administration changed its position, Macron and the Europeans did the same. The French president ran to the left and this Thursday, May 6, declared himself “totally in favor of the lifting of intellectual property”. It is funny to see how quickly positions have changed because not only Macron was opposed to this option but also several of his ministers. The same ministers who openly spoke out against the cancellation of intellectual property (Olivier Véran, Health, Clement Beaune, State Secretary for European Affairs, among others) today celebrate the new teacher’s doctrine.

The European Union (EU) has also aligned its position, albeit tentatively. Brussels and Washington shared the position that the suspension of intellectual property rights could be more counterproductive than beneficial because it did not guarantee the safety necessary for the production of the vaccine. It has also been claimed that such a solution would take a long time and make the mass production of the vaccine uncertain. Last Monday, Thierry Breton, the European commissioner in charge of the internal market, declared that a “transfer of patents would see the production start only in 14 months”. 154 million infected and more than 3.2 million dead later, the West opens the game to the demands of a large part of the planet. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, She has now said she is ready to “discuss any proposal that addresses the crisis in an effective and pragmatic manner. And so we are ready to talk about how lifting IP can help achieve that goal.” The official appealed “to all vaccine producing countries to allow export and avoid measures that interrupt supply chains.” Brussels opens the door ajar without, in fact, taking a clear position, especially since in February 2021, during a meeting with the leftist bloc of MEPs, Von der Leyen said: “I don’t like many suspend intellectual property rights. What we need are vaccines. You cannot change (the production) from a different place from one day to the next ”. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO (World Health Organization) celebrated the position of the US administration in very enthusiastic terms: “This is a monumental moment in the fight against the pandemic,” said Ghebreyesus.

Spain has followed in the footsteps of the EU. According to the newspaper The country, “the support of the government of Pedro Sanchez Biden’s proposal was reflected in an informal document that the Spanish delegation will present to the European summit to be held this Friday and Saturday in Porto. “In Moscow, for his part, the Russian president, Vladimir Poutine, also supported the idea. “Of course, Russia would support such an idea,” said the Russian president. the dad Francisco gave his blessing to the proposal and the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, said the Vatican hailed the “wise move” of the US president. Instead, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel he maintained his position against the release of patents. “The US suggestion to suspend the patents on the Covid-19 vaccine has important implications for vaccine production as a whole,” a German government spokesperson said. “Intellectual property protection is a source of innovation and it should continue to do so in the future. The limiting factors in vaccine production are production capacity and high quality standards, not patents“.

A small revolution is underway against the backdrop of a colossal market. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) called Biden’s backing for a possible patent suspension “disappointing.” It is, says the Federation, a measure which “will not increase the production of doses” because it is “the simple but wrong answer to a complex problem”. The pharmaceutical companies behind the vaccine on Wednesday released accounts of everything involved in the discovery, production and distribution of the vaccine. The Pfizer lab has revealed that it plans to bill $ 26,000 million from the sale of the vaccine. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, the Pfizer-BioNTech formula generated $ 3.5 billion. By comparison, this number is far more than anything the lab earns in a year from the sale of its most popular products. The other lab, Moderna, isn’t doing badly either. Moderna’s Formula estimates he will earn around $ 18 billion in 2021. For the two laboratories, absolute leaders in production and in trust, the horizon is bright. As Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla acknowledged on Tuesday, “based on what we’ve already seen, we believe that demand for our Covid-19 vaccine is very likely to be sustainable, as it is. for influenza vaccines “. Bulgaria revealed a few days ago that the new contracts between the European Union and Pfizer-BioNTech were negotiated with a considerable increase: the vaccine would have cost 19.50 euros against 15.50 before.

Washington’s announcement could change these medium-term forecasts, however. Shares of pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna fell sharply on the stock market. A new battle begins, a temporary battle. The longer it takes to produce the vaccine using the patents issued, the more laboratories will gain. But the task is daunting. Suspending licenses or patents does not immediately resolve the challenges posed by short-term mass production of the vaccine. There are huge logistical problems behind it. The tragedy today lies in the shameful disparity between the rate of vaccine distribution in wealthy Western countries and the lack of doses in the rest of the world. It must be remembered that The United States changed its stance on patents once mass vaccination of its population was guaranteed. The vaccine market has ended up in the hands of an oligopoly that will not easily give up its rights. Producing the formula externally presents the challenges of logistics, industry, raw material supply and training for manufacturers to avoid breakdowns. If patents are issued with the United States in charge, the problem ceases to be legal and becomes industrial. Free production is not automatic, and neither is what the United States has said. The legal brake is not resolved either. A unanimous vote is needed for the rules of the World Trade Organization to be changed. Of the 164 countries that make up the WTO, only 60 support the exemption (The European Union can review its position, but Switzerland, Japan and Brazil are opponents of this principle). It will take several months of discussions and more to democratize the patents and be able to manufacture the vaccine locally. A big step has been taken towards a certain equality. It remains to prop up a building which, since the start of the pandemic and scientific research, should have been a global asset and not a private treasure, reserved for Western pharmaceutical companies and their citizens.