More than 250 Members of European Parliament (MEPs) and national parliamentarians have urged the European Union to support a temporary patent waiver demanded by India and South Africa in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to exponentially increase availability of coronavirus vaccines across the world, especially in poor countries.
The parliamentarians, in their joint appeal, said one year after the adoption of the first lockdown measures in Europe, it is clear that urgent and exponential increase in manufacturing and availability of vaccines, tests, medicines and protective materials is needed. “That requires wider sharing of proprietary technology and know-how, data and resources, especially with low- and middle-income countries," it added.
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In a submission before the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Council of WTO on 2 October, India and South Africa had urged WTO members for a waiver of certain rules of the TRIPS agreement.
They said this would ensure that intellectual property rights such as patents, industrial designs, copyright and protection of undisclosed information do not create barriers to timely access to affordable vaccines and medicines or to scaling up research, development, manufacturing and supply of medical products essential to combat covid-19.
The proposal has since been discussed orally many times at the TRIPS Council but a consensus for a text-based negotiation has not been reached yet. Developed countries, including the US, European Union, Canada, Japan, UK, Australia and Switzerland have opposed the proposal, which has been co-sponsored by Kenya, Eswatini, Mozambique, Pakistan, Bolivia, Venezuela, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, the African Group and the Least Developed Countries Group.
“The waiver proposed by South Africa and India would facilitate the sharing of all intellectual property and know-how. It will lift IP monopolies, remove legal uncertainty, and provide the freedom to operate to enable collaboration to increase and speed up the availability, accessibility and affordability of covid-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments globally," the Parliamentarians said.
The Parliamentarians said it is in everyone’s interest to work collaboratively to ensure that widespread vaccination is in place globally as quickly as possible and remove all obstacles. “EU leaders should urgently reconsider their position and support the TRIPS waiver proposal to protect peoples’ rights to life, health, and adequate standard of living," it added.
New strains of covid-19 prove that the virus will not be defeated until it is defeated everywhere, the Parliamentarians said. “We are in the midst of one of the gravest public health emergencies in the world in recent history. Over 2.6 million lives have already been lost worldwide. The global economy stands to lose trillions of dollars if the vaccination rate doesn’t rapidly increase worldwide. National healthcare systems are often at or beyond capacity, entire economies are on their knees, and millions of livelihoods are at stake," the statement said.
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