Vaccine patent waiver will not be enough - WTO chief

[webfact]

FILE PHOTO: World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attends an interview with Reuters at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, April 12, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

 

By Philip Blenkinsop

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines will not be enough to narrow the huge supply gap between rich and poor countries, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Thursday.

 

South Africa and India have urged fellow WTO members to waive IP rights on vaccines to boost production. Poorer countries that make up half the world's population have received just 17% of doses, a situation the World Health Organization head has labelled "vaccine apartheid".

 

U.S. President Joe Biden said last week he supported the waiver idea, but the European Union and other developed country opponents said it will not increase output.

 

Speaking to the European Parliament on Thursday, WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said it was clear that an IP waiver alone would not be enough.

 

"To have solved the unacceptable problem of inequity of access to vaccines, we have to be holistic. It's not one or the other," she said, adding this could not drag out for years.

 

The European Commission outlined a plan on Wednesday it sees as a more effective way of boosting output, using existing WTO rules, rather than a waiver. It notes countries can grant licences to manufacturers to produce with or without the patent-holder's consent.

 

Bolivia signed a deal last week with a Canadian company Biolyse Pharma Corp to produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which would require Biolyse to secure authorisation from Johnson & Johnson or a "compulsory licence" from Canada.

 

Okonjo-Iweala said developing countries had complained the licencing process was cumbersome and should be improved.

 

Manufacturers should work to expand production, she said, pointing to idle capacity in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Senegal, South Africa.

 

There also needed to be a transfer of technology and know-how, with vaccines often harder to produce than drugs.

 

"I'm convinced that we can agree a text that gives developing countries that kind of access and flexibility, whilst protecting research and innovation," she said.

 

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Giles Elgood)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-05-21

 

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[RichardColeman]

Of course not. If Coke waivered the recipe for coca cola, some thai guy in his village shed is not going to start producing quality coca cola

[Rhys]

Send our Anutin to the rescue for intellectual resolutions... instead of 12 doses per vial, make it 20 doses per vial.. no shortage.

 

[Scouse123]

Another problem is in some if the poorer countries they have not had the wherewithal, transport or infrastructure to get the vaccine out to the people.

 

A lot of talk that it has been stored in unsuitable conditions, left in airport warehouses without refrigeration until the date has expired and in many cases, just not been distributed.

 

Lastly, superstitions and fears have led to slow take ups of the vaccine by the vulnerable.

 

 

 

 

[Jeffr2]

1 hour ago, Scouse123 said:

Another problem is in some if the poorer countries they have not had the wherewithal, transport or infrastructure to get the vaccine out to the people.

 

A lot of talk that it has been stored in unsuitable conditions, left in airport warehouses without refrigeration until the date has expired and in many cases, just not been distributed.

 

Lastly, superstitions and fears have led to slow take ups of the vaccine by the vulnerable.

 

I was listening to a podcast and they said there are NO vaccines made at all in Africa.  None.  So you're right, they just don't have the ability to manufacture these things.  I think India produces some 70% of all vaccines globally.

 

Even the big companies are saying it's hard to ramp up.  Very complicated.

 

I did hear a lot were wasted in Africa as the ones delivered had short expiration dates and they just couldn't ramp up quickly enough to get them in arms.

[Excel]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Of course not. If Coke waivered the recipe for coca cola, some thai guy in his village shed is not going to start producing quality coca cola

well as you mentioned Coke then that Thai guy,  may well produce Coca cola ????

[placnx]

7 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

I was listening to a podcast and they said there are NO vaccines made at all in Africa.  None.  So you're right, they just don't have the ability to manufacture these things.  I think India produces some 70% of all vaccines globally.

 

Even the big companies are saying it's hard to ramp up.  Very complicated.

 

I did hear a lot were wasted in Africa as the ones delivered had short expiration dates and they just couldn't ramp up quickly enough to get them in arms.

I seem to remember seeing someone from Serum Institute of India complaining that they asked the Indian government last year for funds to expand production but were refused.

 

Meanwhile I don't see the Biden administration doing anything to expand US vaccine production capacity. The private sector can only create capacity that can be used in the future, but the US government could rent facilities to a succession of pharmaceutical companies as the need arises. 

[CALSinCM]

15 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. President Joe Biden said last week he supported the waiver idea, but the European Union and other developed country opponents said it will not increase output.

That's because that are huge amounts of money to be made and this is not about saving humanity, it's about the heads of pharmaceutical companies being able to add billions to their personal fortunes.  So of course the First World West will protect the intellectual property even if it decimates third world countries. 

[Caldera]

Luckily for all concerned, Western pharma companies with a lot of cash and large research departments were able to develop powerful vaccines in record time. If they lose their patents, what incentive will pharma companies have in the future to do the same, when needed again?

 

I'm all for scaling up production and granting licenses as part of that effort, but tampering with patents and IP is a very bad idea. Just look at the quality of vaccines that Copycat China has produced compared with innovative Western companies - it's atrocious!

[placnx]

21 hours ago, CALSinCM said:

That's because that are huge amounts of money to be made and this is not about saving humanity, it's about the heads of pharmaceutical companies being able to add billions to their personal fortunes.  So of course the First World West will protect the intellectual property even if it decimates third world countries. 

Before Biden said that he would support patent waivers through WTO, the CEO of Pfizer was saying that they would distribute at cost or even free to very poor countries.