CoVid Vaccines and Waive off Patents

In recent past there has been a lot of ink used on CoVid Vaccines and other drugs. I thought of doing a quick recap on what this is and more importantly what is it for us consumers.

 

A bit about COVID-19 vaccines:

• COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• Researchers across the globe are working to develop a vaccine which would help build immunity across all mutations of this virus. But that will take some time
• Currently, there are 115 pharmaceutical companies working on making these vaccines.
• As of today, there are 33 vaccines in stage 3 clinical trials.
• So far, 15 vaccines have been authorized across several countries.

 

ABOUT COVID-19 PATENTS

US government has agreed to waive off patents on COVID-19 vaccines.

Patents mean that other pharmaceutical companies cannot produce generic versions of a pharmaceutical company’s original drugs for a definite number of years — often 20 years. However, in a surprise move, the United States government recently announced its support of waiving off patents for COVID-19 vaccines. Eventually, this could help boost supplies around the world.

 

At previous World Trade Organization talks, India and South Africa had called for permission to produce generic versions of COVID-19 vaccines. Until now, the U.S., the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom had blocked these calls.

 

At recent talks, however, President Joe Biden’s administration took a U-turn. As Dr. Matthew Kavanagh, a global health researcher at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C., explains, “This marks a major shift in U.S. policy in a pro-public-health way.”

 

As the vaccination rates of lower-income countries continue to lag behind those of wealthier countries, this move is a happy welcome. However, it is only a small step along the path. Rachel Cohen, U.S. director of the nonprofit Drugs and Neglected Diseases Initiative, in New York City, explains: “First, we need to remove patent obstacles. Second, we need to transfer the knowledge on how to make them, and step three is a massive investment in manufacturing capacity.”

 

Next, all countries within the World Trade Organization need to agree on the details of a waiver, which could take some time.

 

Pharmaceutical companies have concerns about the recent announcement. In a statement, the industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America write: “In the midst of a deadly pandemic, the Biden Administration has taken an unprecedented step that will undermine our global response to the pandemic and compromise safety. This decision will sow confusion between public and private partners, further weaken already strained supply chains and foster the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines.”