COVID-19 vaccine patent release: why world leaders are divided

US support for COVID-19 vaccine patent suspension met strong opposition from Germany on Thursday, increasing a controversy that threatens to stop this proposal, of which approval requires the agreement of the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Major pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, have also opposed the move., whose president, Albert Bourla, told AFP that the company was “not at all” in favor of lifting patent protection.

As rich countries face accusations of vaccine storage, the virus is gaining ground in developing countries where vaccination campaigns are struggling to get off the ground unlike in the United States and Europe, which are starting to ease restrictions.

One of the global epicenters of the pandemic is now in India, which recorded a new record of cases and deaths on Thursday. The Asian giant and South Africa are at the base of this call to the WTO to accelerate the fight against this pandemic which has killed more than 3.2 million people worldwide, according to official data compiled by the ‘AFP.

“The administration strongly believes in protecting intellectual property, but to stop this pandemic, it supports the uprising.“On patents,” said US trade representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, celebrated the “historic decision” of the United Stateswhile her WTO counterpart, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, greeted her “warmly”.

France was also in favor of discussing the temporary suspension, as was Russia., which has so far created four vaccines against COVID-19, including Sputnik V and its single-dose version Sputnik Light, approved on Thursday.

Less enthusiastic, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that “the European Union (EU) is ready to discuss any proposal which responds to the crisis in an efficient and pragmatic way”.

But Berlin’s opposition left the fate of the proposal uncertain. “Intellectual property protection is a source of innovation and should remain so in the future,” said a government spokeswoman Angela Merkel.

Shares of vaccine producers fell after the EU and Russia signaled consonance with the United States. However, the decline was less severe than the day before, with investors believing that the transaction is still a long way off.

For the time being, the patents are mainly in the hands of American laboratories, who generally oppose its elimination because, according to them, it would deprive them of income to finance their expensive innovations.

Supporters of the patent suspension say it will boost production of generic vaccines at low prices, helping countries with fewer resources. But Opponents say the measure will erode the incentive to profit, it would eventually affect pharmaceutical research and development.

During, the gap is widening between rich and poor nations in which vaccination campaigns – which will even begin to benefit adolescents – already make it possible to lift certain restrictions.

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“It’s a 1-2-3 – explains Rachel cohen, US Director of the Drugs and Neglected Diseases Initiative, a New York-based nonprofit organization. First, we must remove the obstacles associated with patents; second, we have to transfer the knowledge on how to do it and the third step is a massive investment in manufacturing capacity ”.

And for the moment, for Amy maxmen, expert in specialized publications Nature, “The first step is far from over”. The World Trade Organization will only negotiate which patent details to adjust after all of its member countries agree to some kind of exemption.

Health policy analysts believe other countries will follow in the footsteps of the United States. If consensus is reached, South Africa and India have proposed patent exemptions on vaccines, as well as medical devices, drugs and diagnostic technologies related to COVID-19. So far, Tai’s statement only mentions vaccines.

Drugmakers and others opposed to the measure say waivers sabotage huge investments by companies in drug and vaccine development, which are compensated by their ability to set the price of the products of their exclusive property.

Typically, patents reward pharmaceutical companies by protecting their inventions from generic competition for a limited period of time; U.S. drug patents typically last 20 years.

With information from AFP

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