TRIPS waiver of COVID‐19 vaccines: Impact on pharmaceutical industry and what it means to developing countries

Abstract

The WTO was formed in 1995 and since then countries have abide by Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The agreement provides for comprehensive plan for patenting and protection including those of medical supply units including vaccines and diagnosis. Recently developing countries such as India and South Africa have demanded TRIPS waiver for access to vaccines for all the developing countries The TRIPS waiver demanded, would apply to vaccines, diagnosis, and treatment related to COVID-19. The waiver is important as it would allow member state in researching, manufacturing, and supplying of vaccines.The proposal by the developing countries for temporary waiver of IP rights argues that IP could impede the supply of COVID-19 drugs and vaccines. However, there is no near consensus as most of the developed countries opposed this stance and they even argue that waiving TRIPS is not going to ramp up the manufacturing process. The pharmaceutical industry is also against this stance of developing countries, they put their argument forward that waiving of the IP will inhibit research and development of future prospects.

More Pain, More Gain! The Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines and the Pharmaceutical Industry’s Role in Widening the Access Gap

“…There are solid reasons to sustain the argument that the TRIPS waiver would encourage the entering of new suppliers into the COVID-19 vaccine market, resulting in lower prices and pressure to increase production and licensing of already developed vaccines. [47][48][49] In this sense, the proposal shares the expectations of a fairer and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, but not COVAX's ideal of volunteerism. The proposal asks for a waiver of patents, copyright, industrial design, and protection of undisclosed information and the application of the TRIPS enforcement section to all technologies applied in the diagnosis, immunization, and treatment of COVID-19.…”

Analisis Potensi Dampak Perjanjian TRIPs pada Ketersediaan Obat dan Vaksin Covid-19

“…Maka dari itu, dengan menerbitkan compulsory licensing untuk produk farmasi memungkinkan pemerintah memproduksi atau mengimpor versi generik dari produk tersebut secara lokal tanpa persetujuan pemegang paten (Wong, 2020). Adanya compulsory licensing ini akan secara signifikan mengurangi biaya obat generik dan dapat mengarah pada akses obat yang lebih baik (Chaudhary dan Chaudhary, 2021). Selain compulsory licensing, terdapat juga fleksibilitas lain seperti government use dan parallel importation.…”

Perceptions of Board Members on the Presence of Pharmacists as Strategic Leaders of Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Companies Operating in South Africa: A Qualitative Study

“…An interview guide, informed by literature, was used to conduct In-depth interviews with the respondents who indicated interest in participating in the study. The respondents were asked five (5) open-ended questions, each of which they could answer and elaborate on as desired. It was to allow for their opinions and views to emerge.…”

“…The basis for negotiation focused on the challenges of creating international public health goods due to powerful actors, such as big pharmaceutical companies, that have vested interests (Altindis, 2022; Le and Samson, 2021). The argument presented was insufficient to solve the vaccine access problems for low-income countries as it was restrictive (Chaudhary and Chaudhary, 2021). The agreement did not cover trade enigmas, skills, production capacity and availability of raw materials for low-income countries to manufacture these vaccines (Singh et al, 2022;Chattu et al, 2022).…”