Pharmaceutical companies, including those that produce vaccines now authorized in the United States, are largely opposed to the measure, which they say would undermine the global response to the pandemic and would not have the intended effect of accelerating production. The Trump administration opposed this at the WTO. But House Democrats say they have already collected about 100 signatures in a letter asking Biden to change the US position. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) And Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Also spoke. These critics accuse pharmaceutical companies of prioritizing profits rather than saving lives.
“We need to make vaccines available everywhere if we want to crush this virus, and we need to make public policy choices in both the United States and the WTO that put patients first,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), One of the signatories to the Chamber’s letter and chairman of the Chamber’s powerful Appropriations Committee.
The WTO has been at a standstill on the issue for six months and, so far, the call by lawmakers and more than 400 health, labor, religious and other groups has not persuaded Biden to change the US position against the resignation. As the WTO operates by consensus, all 164 members would have to agree to support the measure for it to take effect. But supporters of the exemption request believe that a change in the United States’ direction would have a transformative effect on other opponents.
For now, Biden government officials just say they will make a decision based on their analysis of how effective the resignation would be. They also point to Biden’s pledge to provide $ 4 billion in contributions to COVAX, the international alliance to distribute vaccines to 92 low- and middle-income countries.
“The top priority for the United States is to save lives and end the pandemic, including investing in COVAX and increasing the production and distribution of vaccines,” said Adam Hodge, a spokesman for the Office of the US Trade Representative. “We are exploring all possibilities for coordination with our global partners and evaluating the effectiveness of this specific proposal for its true potential to save lives.”
The Trump administration’s opposition to the resignation was a rare example of solidarity with the European Union, which along with Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and several other WTO members is also opposed to waiving intellectual property protections.
However, it is typical for rich countries, which host large pharmaceutical companies, to oppose any challenges to the intellectual property rights of the poorest nations.
The bloc of more developed countries argues that strong patent protections have been the key to the rapid development of vaccines, and the issuance of a broad dispensation would undermine the industry’s ability to respond to a future pandemic.
Top executives from 31 pharmaceutical companies, in a letter to Biden earlier this month, said the proponents of the exemption offered no evidence that patents and other protections are what is currently hindering the availability of the vaccine, rather than the expected delay. between product development and increased production to meet global demand.
“Despite the immense challenge of scaling up manufacturing with new technologies, current estimates are that vaccine manufacturers Covid-19 will deliver approximately 10 billion doses by the end of 2021, enough to vaccinate the entire current population eligible for the global vaccine. “, they added.
At least two companies – AstraZeneca and Novavax – have allowed manufacturers in India, Japan and South Korea to produce their vaccines under voluntary licensing agreements.
But the World Health Organization, which supports India and South Africa’s request for an exemption, argues that the terms of the voluntary license schemes offered by some patent holders are not sufficient to tackle the current pandemic.
The Vatican, which has observer status at the WTO, also entered the debate. Quoting Pope Francis, the representative of the Holy See argued during a meeting last month of the WTO’s intellectual property council that the world should not allow market law and patents to take precedence over human health.
Supporters of the resignation hope that these and other moral arguments will resonate with Biden, who is the second Roman Catholic president of the United States and was photographed on his first day in office. sitting in front of a photo of you and the pontiff.
They also present an economic argument, saying that any loss of profits by pharmaceutical companies would be more than offset by the global economic gains from a faster recovery, as well as the number of lives saved.
The next meeting to examine the matter at the WTO will be held in two days in mid-April. This gives Katherine Tai, Biden’s newly confirmed US trade representative, some time to delve into the issue. If there is no resolution, Biden could face the issue head-on later this year, when G-20 leaders hold their annual meeting in October in Rome. South Africa and India are members of the leading economy group, along with the United States, China, Germany, France and the EU as a whole. India could also raise the issue when it comes to the G7 summit in June as a guest.
Among the main developing countries, only Brazil is openly opposed, while China said the request for exemption represents a good starting point for negotiations on any emergency trade measures that should be taken. India, a major manufacturer of generic drugs, says it supports more than 100 countries for the proposal.
The new WTO director general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former co-president of the alliance behind COVAX, suggested a “third way” solution to encourage vaccine patent holders to enter into voluntary licensing agreements with drug manufacturers worldwide to scale production.
A group of four Republican senators led by Tom Cotton, from Arkansas, also asked Biden not to support the resignation.
“Waiving all intellectual property rights would end the flow of innovation and halt the development of new vaccines or boosters to deal with variants of the virus. Nor would it increase the supply of vaccines due to the tremendous time and resources required to build a new manufacturing plant. and acquire the know-how to produce these complex medicines “, wrote the senators.
But supporters of the exemption say drug makers are not to be trusted when they say 10 billion doses will be available by the end of the year. Other estimates indicate that it may be in 2023 or 2024 until there are enough vaccines to treat the world’s population, said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
“Time is also essential now, because there are variants in development,” said Schakowsky. “The government has taken a few steps in the right direction. But the real answer is to allow the manufacture of these vaccines ”.