Rich countries have rejected a proposal co-sponsored by Kenya, to waive patents of Covid-19 treatments and vaccines to allow mass production during the pandemic.
A temporary waiver would allow other manufacturers to produce the pharmaceuticals instead of concentrating production in the hands of a small number of patent holders.
However, the World Trade Organisation’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Council on Thursday last week failed to adopt the proposal and will ask for more time to deliberate next year.
The proposal was initially submitted to the council on October 16 by South Africa and India and was co-sponsored by Kenya, Eswatini, Pakistan, Mozambique, and Bolivia.
“Members agreed to keep this agenda item open in future Trips Council meetings but offered no indication of a change in their well-known positions or of a likely consensus in the future,” said South African ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter in a statement.
The proposal was received coldly by the United States, European Union, UK, Canada, Norway and Switzerland.
They said intellectual property rights have not been a genuine barrier to accessing Covid-19 related medicines and technologies.
Patent holders of certain drugs, ventilators and their spare parts, Covid-19 test kits, genuine N95 masks and other essential products have kept prices high during the pandemic.
They argue that most developing countries lack the manufacturing capacity and technology to make new products and a waiver would be useless.
“The (intellectual property), which is the blood of the private sector, is what brought a solution to this pandemic and it is not a barrier right now,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, said last week, according to Reuters.
Proponents of the waiver dismiss this argument saying a lot of public funding has gone into research and development to support the development of Covid-19 medical products. It would be unfair for some pharmaceutical industry players to solely have proprietary rights over knowledge and technology, they argue.
WTO decisions are normally reached through consensus. The decision to extend discussions will be communicated to the WTO general council on Wednesday or Thursday this week.
The next formal meeting of the Trips Council will take place from March 10 to 11 next year, but developing countries have proposed the meeting should take place in January or early February.
Non-profit Doctors Without Borders urged Kenya to use its influence to rally support from other governments, including wealthy nations, who have yet to back this move.
“Not even a global pandemic can stop pharmaceutical corporations from following their business-as-usual approach, so countries need to use every tool available to make sure that Covid-19 medical products are accessible and affordable for everyone who needs them,” said Dr Sidney Wong, executive co-director of MSF’s Access Campaign.
(edited by o. owino)
