The exemption, however, will not be applicable to drugs, diagnostic devices, says EU proposal.
It is proposed by the European Union (EU) that international pharmaceutical companies’ intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines be relaxed for up to five years. The proposal comes amid a two-year-old dispute at the World Trade Organization involving India, the United States, South Africa, and the European Union (EU).
But this reprieve would not apply to COVID-19 pharmaceuticals and diagnostic devices, despite the fact that the EU has offered a “conversation” on this in the coming six months and has also rejected India’s first proposal for a waiver of intellectual property constraints on COVID therapies.
Past Scenario
India and South Africa had collectively backed a proposal in October 2020, and this was updated with representation from several low- and middle-income countries — though with the notable exception of China — to broaden the scope of the waiver to include “all health products and technologies” and to keep the waiver in place for at least a year.
Since then, a four-way ministerial consultation took place in January (2021), and meetings between officials from key players — the United States, the European Union, India, and South Africa — are underway to examine counter proposals, the most prominent of which is the US-E.U. proposal for “geographical exclusions.” Indian officials have formally opposed the geographic exclusion plan included in a bundle of numerous choices, but acknowledge that until the negotiations conclude, they cannot be certain that it would be ruled out completely.
Apart from the geographical exclusions proposed to exclude Indian and Chinese companies from the waivers,sources indicate that other proposals include limiting the types of medical products eligible for waivers to combat the pandemic, as well as limiting waivers to a portion of the intellectual property (IP), rather than a complete product and patent waiver.
Current Developments
In accordance with a version of the negotiation agreement obtained, current EU proposal for waiver will allow pharmaceutical companies in developing nations to not only manufacture vaccines but also export them without the need for prior authorization from patent holders.
In spite of the fact that India and South Africa were two of the proponents of the original waiver in 2020, it is unclear to what extent this proposal will benefit Indian manufacturers, who have in the past year not only entered into licencing agreements with global pharmaceutical companies but have also developed indigenous vaccines. The Indian viewpoint has the support of nearly 100 countries, including the United States. Compulsion licencing is already in place in many developing nations, including India, whereby the government can authorise the manufacturing of a medication or vaccine regardless of whether or not the drug or vaccine is protected by a patent due to unforeseen circumstances.
In the text, it is stated that these “waivers” would only be available to developing nations that had not exported more than 10% of the COVID-19 vaccine doses by 2021; however, it is uncertain whether India falls under this description.
Edited by- Subbuthai Padma
Published by Iram Rizvi
