Unless there’s a last-minute meeting of the minds, it looks like any extension of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) five-year intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines will be shelved, at least for now.
Six months out from the World Health Organization ending the global health emergency brought on by the pandemic, there’s no need for the World Trade Organization to expand a five-year intellectual property (IP) waiver for vaccines to COVID-19-related drugs, devices and diagnostics.
The intellectual property waivers for American vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic are still controversial, but the World Health Organization (WHO) is nonetheless seeking a similar set of waivers for therapies and tests for COVID. A subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee met June 6 to review these waivers, and subcommittee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said he intends to continue pushing legislation that would require the U.S. president to obtain congressional approval for agreeing to any such waivers in the future.
Any decision on whether to expand a five-year World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines to diagnostics and therapies likely will be delayed longer than proponents had hoped. WTO members originally were scheduled to vote on expanding the waiver in December, but the deadline was extended indefinitely when key members, including the U.S., pushed for a delay.
Any decision on whether to expand a five-year World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines to diagnostics and therapies likely will be delayed longer than proponents had hoped. WTO members originally were scheduled to vote on expanding the waiver in December, but the deadline was extended indefinitely when key members, including the U.S., pushed for a delay.
Three months after agreeing to an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, World Trade Organization (WTO) members are discussing expanding it to therapies, diagnostics and devices used in preventing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 infections.
Three months after agreeing to an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, World Trade Organization (WTO) members are discussing expanding it to therapies, diagnostics and devices used in preventing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 infections.
With global COVID-19 cases on the rise once again, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said it reached consensus among four WTO members – the U.S., European Union, India and South Africa – for an IP waiver regarding vaccines, a proposal to which biopharma reiterated its objections. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the White House appealed to Congress to provide adequate funding to continue the country’s pandemic response, and Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE submitted an application to the FDA seeking emergency use authorization for a fourth shot of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Hoping to get Germany to drop its opposition to a proposed World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of intellectual property (IP) rights, several U.S. lawmakers have asked to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she’s in Washington for a July 15 summit with President Joe Biden.
The European Commission unveiled its third alternative to providing global access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments just ahead of the June 8 meeting of the World Trade Organization’s Council for Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the start of the G7 summit.
