354:, James Bacchus agreed, and said that arguments that compulsory licensing (instead of a waiver) would slow production lacked experiential evidence; "There is no evidence of the need for such a waiver", and that there was no evidence that the WTO had not struck the correct balance between making lifesaving vaccines available sooner and preserving innovation-driving incentives. Pharmaceutical companies maintain IP "tickets", with multiple patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and undisclosed test datasets for each medicine they make. Each would need a compulsory license, and it is debated whether the WTO rules could force licensing of all of them. Compulsory licensing also has to be done on a country-by-country basis. Negotiating the bureaucracy has been called "nigh impossible" for the complex multi-country multi-component supply chains of some COVID-19 vaccine manufacture.
293:
risk to pharmaceutical companies, and that any portion of development costs not covered by public funds has been recouped many times over by profits. Public funding agreements did not include much transparency. Some estimates are that public funds are paying for the research, development, testing, regulatory approval, manufacturing, and advance purchase orders, so that the manufacturers are taking negligible risk, pointing to tenfold increases in stock prices. The companies also get to keep the IP for technological advances made with public funding, allowing them to make more profit in the future.
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It has been argued that a waiver would make pharmaceutical companies less willing to respond to the next crisis; Pharmaceutical companies have argued that it "would undermine innovation". In rebuttal, it has been argued that vaccine development was publicly funded, and thus presented little or no
174:
Generally, wealthier countries oppose the waiver, while poorer countries support it. Reuters noted that the
European Union, the United States and Switzerland, countries opposing the waiver, are home to large pharmaceutical companies and have excellent domestic vaccine availability. In May 2021,
296:
While "Big Pharma" and the state are frequently identified as key to creating the structures that motivate market incentives, philanthropies also play an important role. Indeed, different forms of interaction between firms, state agencies, and philanthropies work together to capture value from
111:
171:. The four categories, as enunciated in sections of the TRIPS agreement, cover– copyright, industrial designs, patents and protection of undisclosed information. The duration of the waiver is based on the time frame in which the world can develop an immunity against COVID-19.
327:) evolving. These include Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who argued that poor vaccine coverage meant that the virus had "more opportunities to mutate and potentially undermine the efficacy of vaccines everywhere", warning "We could end up back at square one".
195:
On 15–16 October 2020, at the WTO TRIPS Council meeting Kenya and
Eswatini became official co-sponsors while 100 countries welcomed or fully supported the proposal; a number of countries did not support the proposal, particularly members of the
178:
A waiver would have to be agreed to by all 164 WTO member countries; any one dissenter could scupper the deal. The WTO has not managed to get agreement on any substansive new policy since it was founded in 1995. Proponents (including
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biomedical innovation. While some vaccine manufacturers claim they are selling vaccines at cost, and taking no profit, this is impossible to verify because they are not publishing the financial data.
204:
communication to the World Health
Organization, urging it to ensure universal access to vaccines, in June 2020. Challenges other than patents would still remain such as access to raw materials.
1214:
816:
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Opponents argue that there is a shortage of manufacturing capacity, and waiving licensing cannot remedy it. They argue that developing countries cannot safely manufacture vaccines.
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also listed the pandemic's effects on child development and education, and argued that companies would still get royalties, likening the arrangements to those used in wartime.
219:, among others, oppose the waiver. Reuters quoted an unnamed industry sources as saying that they were attempting to narrow the waiver, seeing little chance of blocking it.
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401:
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272:). Making live vaccines requires rare expertise and manufacturing facilities that take years to set up. By contrast, it is much easier to make a new type of vaccine,
427:
372:
276:, such as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. In January 2021, some Moderna shots were being manufactured by a chemical company with no previous vaccine experience.
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Countries have also argued that the waiver is bad because it would let their patents and copyrights be used by countries with whom they have poor relations.
632:
789:
477:
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741:"India and South Africa proposal for WTO waiver from intellectual property protections for COVID-19-related medical technologies (Briefing Document)"
531:"WTO COVID-19 TRIPS waiver proposal: Myths, realities and an opportunity for governments to protect access to lifesaving medical tools in a pandemic"
268:(MSF, also called Doctors without Borders), this is the case for making traditional live vaccines (vaccines that use modified live viruses, like the
269:
658:
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called waivers "reasonable in a time of global catastrophe", arguing that the global economy would benefit from broader vaccination, because
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Proponents argue that a waiver would allow vaccinating the world's poor years earlier, and thus reduce the risk of new variants (including
175:
Reuters quoted an unnamed industry sources as saying that they were attempting to narrow the waiver, seeing little chance of blocking it.
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740:
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delegate called it "an extreme measure to address an unproven problem". Pharmaceutical companies have argued that the WTO's existing
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cross borders, and even areas with very high vaccination rates depend on areas with lower vaccination rates for goods and services.
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250:
Proponents and opponents often agree that an increase in vaccine production would be good. They often agree that it would improve
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375:, founded before the pandemic to avoid such problems, failed to obtain IP rights in exchange for funding vaccine development.
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Pharmaceutical companies argued that a waiver would "raise the risk of unsafe viruses", despite a lack of evidence.
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258:) evolving. Proponents argue that the waiver would increase vaccine production, opponents argue that it would not.
222:
394:"Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19"
226:
156:
284:
Vaccine manufacturers have refused to share manufacturing information with
Doctors without Borders and the WHO.
343:
149:
134:
Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the
Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19
112:
Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the
Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19
32:
Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the
Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19
1199:
821:
478:"In landmark move, India and South Africa propose no patents on COVID-19 medicines, tools during pandemic"
770:
1035:"Opinion: Preserving intellectual property barriers to covid-19 vaccines is morally wrong and foolish"
1078:
347:
503:"5 reasons a new proposal by India and South Africa could be a gamechanger in the COVID-19 response"
1079:"COVID and structural cartelisation: market-state-society ties and the political economy of Pharma"
254:
by vaccinating the world's poor years earlier, and thus reduce the risk of new variants (including
562:
200:
and
Switzerland. By 16 November 2021 the number of co-sponsors grew to 64. Precedents include an
1153:
1135:
1096:
633:"An Unnecessary Proposal: A WTO Waiver of Intellectual Property Rights for COVID-19 Vaccines"
1172:"MSF: TRIPS waiver must be urgently adopted despite WTO Ministerial Conference postponement"
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1060:"MSF: TRIPS waiver must be urgently adopted despite WTO Ministerial Conference postponement"
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324:
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897:"A 'me first' approach to vaccination won't defeat Covid | Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus"
790:"TRIPS waiver: US support is a major step but no guarantee of COVID-19 vaccine equity"
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184:
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137:
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1000:"They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma"
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723:"WTO vaccine waiver could take months to negotiate, faces opposition -experts"
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230:
115:
1139:
1100:
842:
Prabhala, Achal; Kuruvilla, Benny; Brown, Burcu Kilic and Dana (2020-10-15).
817:"India in talks with EU, Australia and Japan to allay TRIPS waiver concerns"
17:
1157:
788:
Hannah, Erin; Scott, James; Trommer, Silke; Harman, Sophie (May 12, 2021).
237:
in medicine have been linked to his views on legal monopolies in software.
563:"Members discuss intellectual property response to the COVID-19 pandemic"
77:
596:"WHO chief: waive Covid vaccine patents to put world on 'war footing'"
180:
141:
70:
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229:(WHO), supported the waiver. A significant non-state opponent is
690:"Backers of IP waiver for COVID-19 drugs make fresh push at WTO"
869:"Explained: Intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines"
155:
The two countries are suggesting a temporary patent waiver for
934:"Bill Gates' Comments On COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Draw Outrage"
659:"Bill Gates, Big Pharma and entrenching the vaccine apartheid"
350:
rules were equivalent to the proposed waiver. Writing for the
844:"We can't let the WTO get in the way of a 'people's vaccine'"
163:
and related equipment and technologies in four categories of
233:, who is heavily involved in vaccine activism. His views on
428:"India, South Africa ask WTO to ease IP rules for COVID-19"
334:
has been cited as an example of why the waiver is needed.
971:"The World Loses Under Bill Gates' Vaccine Colonialism"
1033:
Stiglitz, Joseph E.; Wallach, Lori (April 26, 2021).
771:"Vaccine waiver is a moment of truth for EU values"
100:
88:
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1114:The Lancet Infectious Diseases (September 2021).
1215:International responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
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993:
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867:Aanchal Magazine; Prabha Raghavan (2021-05-11).
426:Ghosal, Aniruddha; Anna, Cara (3 October 2020).
1077:Sparke, Matthew; Williams, Owain (2024-01-19).
373:Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
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183:) have accused opponents of stalling, and of
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895:Ghebreyesus, Tedros Adhanom (5 March 2021).
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187:by asking the same questions over and over.
1116:"COVID-19 vaccine equity and booster doses"
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509:. Médecins Sans Frontières. 11 October 2020
136:) is a joint intervention communication by
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484:. Médecins Sans Frontières. 7 October 2020
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507:Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign
482:Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign
454:"Avoiding patents for Covid-19 vaccines"
246:Potential increase in vaccine production
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270:Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
1200:Bibliography related to the waiver
769:Robinson, Mary (1 December 2021).
657:Allison, Simon (30 January 2021).
25:
404:from the original on 11 June 2021
688:Farge, Emma (January 19, 2021).
106:
76:
69:
56:
49:
1120:The Lancet. Infectious Diseases
998:Hancock, Jay (25 August 2020).
594:Boseley, Sarah (5 March 2021).
639:. No. 78. Cato institute.
1:
1176:Doctors Without Borders - USA
1132:10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00486-2
1092:10.1080/13563467.2024.2304180
1064:Doctors Without Borders - USA
969:Mookim, Mohit (19 May 2021).
84:64 countries by November 2021
932:Cao, Sissi (28 April 2021).
815:Nandi, Shreya (2021-11-15).
721:Lawder, David (6 May 2021).
452:Dabade, Gopal (2020-10-12).
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332:SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant
325:vaccine-resistant variants
310:Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
256:vaccine-resistant variants
225:, Director-General of the
223:Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
227:World Health Organization
152:(WTO) on 2 October 2020.
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105:
748:Médecins Sans Frontières
567:World Trade Organization
538:Médecins Sans Frontières
398:World Trade Organization
344:World Trade Organization
266:Médecins sans Frontières
150:World Trade Organization
822:Business Standard India
663:The Mail & Guardian
132:(officially titled the
434:. The Associated Press
130:TRIPS Agreement waiver
1083:New Political Economy
165:intellectual property
82:(15-16 October 2020)
348:compulsory licensing
338:Existence of problem
316:Risk of new variants
65:Official co-sponsors
637:Free Trade Bulletin
1004:Kaiser Health News
873:The Indian Express
750:. 18 November 2020
400:. 2 October 2020.
569:. 20 October 2020
288:Market incentives
161:COVID-19 vaccines
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217:Switzerland
45:Signatories
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853:2021-06-18
828:2021-12-23
801:2021-12-23
573:2021-06-18
513:2021-06-18
488:2021-06-18
463:2021-06-18
438:2021-06-18
380:References
342:A British
302:The Lancet
231:Bill Gates
167:under the
116:Wikisource
1181:2 January
1140:1473-3099
1101:1356-3467
1044:2 January
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605:2 January
241:Arguments
122:opponents
101:Full text
37:Presented
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1085:: 1–18.
938:Observer
775:Politico
402:Archived
366:See also
96:proposal
1149:8360703
754:18 June
727:Reuters
694:Reuters
544:18 June
432:AP NEWS
408:18 June
191:Support
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144:to the
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181:Oxfam
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371:The
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