WHAT COUNTRIES WANT WTO TO DO

“I have counted 272 partnerships which the industry has signed on Covid-19. More than 200 of them involve technology transfer” Thomas Cueni, Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, Geneva

INDIA- SOUTH AFRICA PROPOSAL

Waive intellectual property obligations for health products and technologies (including diagnostics), therapeutics, vaccines, medical devices, personal protective equipment (and their materials/components and methods of manufacture) for prevention, treatment or containment of Covid-19 for at least three years

EU PROPOSAL

All WTO members should be ready to agree on the following: a) The pandemic is a circumstance of national emergency and, therefore, the requirement to negotiate with the right holder may be waived; b) In order to support manufacturers ready to produce vaccines or therapeutics at affordable prices, especially for low- and middle-income countries, on the basis of compulsory licence, the remuneration for patent holders should reflect such affordable prices; and c) The compulsory licence could cover any exports destined to countries that lack manufacturing capacity, including via COVAX (Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access), a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines

US COMMITMENT

“The Biden-Harris Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved" - United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on May 5