Vaccine makers oppose IP waiver, say manufacturing hurdles slowing rollout

Pushing against the proposed Intellectual Property (IP) waiver for Covid vaccines, Pharma companies are saying that removing IP protections from Covid-19 vaccines or pressuring companies into technology sharing will not speed up production of the jabs. The companies claimed such a measure would even slow down the vaccine production.

Supporters of the measureto do away with IP rights say that this can enable more countries to produce the vaccines thereby increasing accessibility.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country is co-leading a push at the World Trade Organization to exempt Covid-19 vaccines from IP rights, insisted Friday the jabs were "a public good and must be recognised as such".

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"We call on the pharmaceutical industry to directly transfer this technology free of intellectual property barriers to low and middle-income countries," he told an event hosted by the World Health Organization.

"Let us together challenge vaccine nationalism and show that protecting intellectual property rights does not come at the expense of human lives."

Although vaccine makers have previously voiced commitment to co-operate for boost in production, industry representatives insisted on Friday that IP waivers and forced technology sharing was the wrong way to go.

An IP waiver "wouldn't give us the tools to produce more doses of vaccines", Thomas Cueni, head of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), told reporters.

He pointed out that around 275 manufacturing deals, including on technology transfer among staunch competitors, had helped the industry go from zero to one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses already produced, with the goal of 10 billion doses by the end of the year.

Industry players said though that that target hinged not on IP restrictions or broader technology transfers, but on resolving serious challenges, linked to trade barriers and export restrictions, hindering the movement of vaccine components and the vaccines themselves.

"Vaccine manufacturing is not just about patents," said Sai Prasad, head of quality operations at Indian vaccine maker Bharat Biotech and president of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers' Network (DCVMN).

(With inputs from agencies)