Patently false: WTO debate on waiving vax IPR misses the point. Equitable access needs quick tech transfer

News: The ongoing WTO ministerial conference in Geneva is discussing, among other things, a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights (IPR) on Covid vaccines.

The genesis was an earlier India-South Africa proposal in October 2020. Since then, many other countries have backed the idea.

Of course, as the draft says, India won’t benefit on account of its status as a vaccine exporter. However, the underlying reason for the original proposal, inequitable vaccine access in a health emergency, remains.

Therefore, it’s an issue that needs a solution.

Issue of inequitable vaccine access

In large areas of Africa, many are yet to be vaccinated. The core issue, therefore, is narrow access as manufacturing is largely confined to a handful of countries.

What’s the best way forward?

Evidence shows it’s not a temporary IPR waiver. For example, US firm Moderna announced in 2020 it will not enforce IPR on its mRNA vaccine as long as Covid is active. It didn’t make a difference.

The key to expanding vaccine manufacture is by spreading technical know-how currently available to a handful of firms.

– Technology transfer in 2020 from AstraZeneca to Serum allowed India to quickly ramp up vaccine production.

Finding a way to facilitate technology transfer, along with a financing mechanism, will be of help to Africa. Moreover, this channel can be later used to make other vaccines when Covid recedes.

Source: This post is based on the article “Patently false: WTO debate on waiving vax IPR misses the point. Equitable access needs quick tech transfer” published in The Times of India on 14th June 22.