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8 June 2021EuropeAlex Baldwin

EU backs compulsory licensing for COVID vaccines

The European Union has submitted a new proposal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which backs compulsory licensing agreements for COVID-19 vaccines when negotiations fail.

In the proposal, announced on Friday 4 June, the EU underlined the WTO’s central role in the COVID-19 pandemic and urged fellow members to agree on a set of commitments to improve access to vaccines.

Specifically, the proposal calls on members to limit export restrictions, expand affordable supply chains and facilitate limited compulsory licencing agreements within the existing Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) framework.

Executive vice-president and commissioner for trade Valdis Dombrovskis said: “In reality, the main problem at this moment relates to the lack of sufficient manufacturing capacity to rapidly produce the required quantities. The objective must be to ensure that any available and adequate manufacturing capacity anywhere in the world is used for the COVID-19 vaccines production.”

The EU’s solution to the IP controversy surrounding COVID-19 rights is to predominantly rely on voluntary licencing agreements, which it calls “the most effective instrument to facilitate the expansion of production”, but allow for government-instituted targeted licencing.

This would allow producers to make a vaccine without the consent of a patent holder when negotiations between patent holders and producers fail.

It asks WTO members to agree that the pandemic is an “exceptional circumstance” where rights may “legitimately be waived” where needed, to support manufacturers willing to produce treatments at affordable prices under a compulsory licence and to agree that the licence can cover any and all exports to countries lacking capacity—including under the COVAX facility.

Commenting on the proposed waiver of TRIPS provisions, first proposed by India and South Africa, the EU said: “While ready to discuss any option that helps end the pandemic as soon as possible, is not convinced that this would provide the best immediate response to reach the objective of the widest and timely distribution of COVID-19 vaccines that the world urgently needs.”

Waiving debate

This comes shortly after a recent boost in support from key WTO member states, charities, and world leaders to waive TRIPS rights for COVID-19 related patents, with China’s President Xi being the latest to throw support behind the proposal.

Last month, the Biden administration also supported the waiver, following continuous pressure from other WTO members, charities and industry bodies.

However, the plan will require a unanimous WTO member vote to pass, and the UK, Switzerland and Japan are among the countries still opposed.

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27 April 2021   Pfizer has discovered counterfeit versions of its COVID-19 vaccine in Mexico and Poland, prompting governments to reassure the public over the safety of vaccine supply chains.
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10 September 2020   The European Commission has concluded exploratory talks with Pfizer and BioNTech to potentially supply 300 million doses of their investigational vaccine against COVID-19.