Pfizer refuses to suspend patents on coronavirus vaccines: war on Joe Biden?

Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla said on Thursday that reject the proposal supported by United States temporarily suspend vaccine patents against covid-19, and instead suggested accelerating its production in existing factories.

Meanwhile, Angela Merkel’s government in Germany, He also expressed his rejection upon release of licenses.

“The suggestion by the United States to release patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines has important implications for vaccine production as a whole,” the German government spokesperson said, adding that “the protection of property intellectual is a source of innovation and should continue to do so in the future. “

In an interview with AFP, the boss of Pfizer said that his company, which has developed a vaccine with the German BioNTech, is not “at all” in favor of the American call to lift the patents that protect the drug against covid-19.

The response, while not surprising, will undoubtedly spark a clash with government Joe Biden, who on Wednesday announced he would support the lifting of intellectual property rights on coronavirus vaccines.

The United States was one of the countries that opposed the suspension of intellectual property at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to encourage production.

But finally Biden gave in to the pressure to support the proposal, promoted by India and South Africa at the WTO and approved by ten countries, including Argentina, because it opens the door for countries to produce their own generic vaccines, without having to wait for months or years before sending doses.

“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, said in a statement Wednesday.

That same Thursday, the president of the European CommissionUrsula von der Leyen said the EU was “ready to discuss” ways to ensure vaccines quickly reach all corners of the world.

“The EU is ready to talk about any proposal that responds to the crisis in an efficient and pragmatic way. And so we are ready to talk about how the removal of intellectual property can help achieve this goal,” he said. -he declares.

Until now, the EU had remained firmly opposed to requests for suspension temporary patenting of vaccines to speed up vaccination campaigns against covid-19.

BioNtech’s position

For its part, the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech said that Patent protection for Covid-19 vaccine does not limit production nor does it explain the supply problems in the world.

“Patents are not the limiting factor for the production or supply of our vaccine. They will not increase global production or the supply of doses in the short and medium term,” the laboratory told AFP.

The declaration assumes a tacit rejection the turn the United States has taken.

“If none of the requirements are met, the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine cannot be guaranteed by the manufacturer or inventor. And this can endanger the health of vaccinated people, ”warns BioNtech.

Highlighting the various details that can compromise production, the German company stressed that if some of the “important and scarce raw materials” are not used in the best way, fewer vaccines will be produced.

“Experts have already pointed out that installing and validating new production sites typically takes a year,” he said.

In addition, the production of the messenger RNA vaccine, like that implemented by BioNTech and the American Pfizer, “is a complex process developed for more than a decade. All the steps must be defined and carried out with precision”, for an “experienced staff,” he said.

BioNTech, which estimated by 2021 the manufacture of up to 2.5 billion doses of its vaccine, now claims “The capacity” to produce up to 3 billion doses this year and more than 3 billion next year.

In the EU, two factories, in Belgium and Germany, are the central platforms for the manufacture of doses of messenger RNA.

The laboratory favors technology transfers and the granting of specific licenses to increase the production of its vaccine, he recalled.

And he stressed that he has a close collaboration with more than 15 partners, including Merck, Novartis Sanofi and Baxter.

Source: AFP