Five European countries today distanced themselves from the idea of removing it patent for vaccines against Covid-19, arguing that the key to ending the pandemic is to get more vaccines quickly.
The leaders of the 27 discuss in their two-day meeting in Porto the proposal, which is supported by US President Joe Biden, but appear divided over its usefulness. Experts say it could take years for the issue to be finalized and not address the immediate need to prepare more doses at a faster rate.
“What is the current issue?” It is not really about intellectual property. “Is it possible to give intellectual property to laboratories that do not know how to make (the vaccines) and will not make them tomorrow?” asked French President Emanuel Macron on his arrival at the summit. “The key issue for solidarity is the distribution of installments,” he said, adding that France was working closely with Germany on the issue.
Berlin voiced opposition to the patents being lifted on Thursday.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden backed India and South Africa’s request for a temporary lifting of patents for Covid-19 vaccines, a move that has angered many pharmaceutical companies. Some European officials say it will take up to two years of negotiations within the World Trade Organization to reach an agreement.
European leaders are likely to hear from the European Commission that the removal of the patent would not help increase production, especially in the poorest countries, as this process requires advanced technologies and facilities.
The American company Moderna resigned its copyright for its vaccine last October (it uses the technology of “messenger RNA”) but no other pharmaceutical company has announced to date that it will try to “copy” its preparation.
Germany, home to BioNTech, the company that holds the patent for the second “messenger RNA” vaccine (developed in collaboration with US-based Pfizer), opposes the patent removal, while Italy agrees to Biden’s proposal.
As the pandemic continues, chances are that even more dangerous new variants of SARS-CoV-2 will emerge. The pharmaceutical industry insists that the most appropriate approach to tackling it is to overcome the problems in sourcing raw materials and to sell or donate vaccines to all countries of the world.
“No one will be safe until we are all there. If vaccinations are given only in developed countries, our victory over Covid-19 will be short-lived. “We are seeing how fast the virus is mutating, creating new variants that pose new challenges,” wrote the leaders of Belgium, Sweden, France, Denmark and Spain in a joint letter to the Commission.
“Vaccines have become a safety issue and the EU cannot lag behind. “For this reason, a key priority is to increase production capacity in Europe.”
The EU, one of the world’s largest producers of vaccines, is also the main exporter, with 200 million doses already shipped to other parts of the world. The United States and Britain have not exported any of the vaccines made in their own territory.
Canada: Government Says Ready to Discuss Patent Removal
Canada said today it was ready to discuss an copyright (IP) exemption for COVID-19 vaccines while stressing the importance of copyright protection and the industry’s crucial role in the development of the drug.
The day before yesterday, US President Joe Biden voiced his support for the exclusion of copyright on COVID-19 vaccines. Any such exception should be the result of negotiations through the World Trade Organization.
“Canada is ready to discuss proposals for an IP protection exemption, especially for COVID-19 vaccines under the WTO TRIPS Agreement,” said International Trade Minister Mary Ing, referring to the WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
“Since the IP exemption proposal was introduced, Canada has been working actively with partners to identify barriers to accessing vaccines – many of which are not IP-related, such as supply chain restrictions,” it said in a statement.
Biden’s proposal angered pharmaceutical companies. Vaccine companies recorded high revenues and increased profits during the crisis.
“Our government firmly believes in the importance of IP protection and recognizes the crucial role that the industry has played in innovating to develop and distribute life-saving COVID-19 vaccines,” Ing said.
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