Why India and South Africa are fighting to scrape anti Covid patents

India and South Africa, writes El Pais , ask the World Trade Organization to temporarily suspend intellectual property on technologies, drugs and vaccines against the new coronavirus during the pandemic; 99 countries support them, the rich world resists

There are two speeds in the race against covid-19. That of rich countries, which have already purchased or supported doses of vaccine sufficient to immunize their populations several times; and that of the poor: later. Although an international mechanism – Covax – has been established to ensure fair distribution and has already raised more than 1.7 billion euros, it is still not sufficiently equipped to face the battle on the market on an equal footing.

It is this inequality that has prompted India and South Africa to ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) to suspend the intellectual property rights on any technology, drug or vaccine against this disease, at least until it is reached. global group immunity, which the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates at 70% of the world population.

The world map that supports this proposal is also divided into two: the north, which rejects it (including Spain), and the south, which supports it. The WTO works by consensus and this time the deal will be uphill: 99 of the organization's 164 member countries have been in favor. Numerous NGOs and civil society organizations also joined. Tedros Adhanom, WHO Director General, spoke in favor a few days after the formal submission of the application by the two countries. "We welcome efforts to expand access to tests, treatments and vaccines, such as the recent proposal from South Africa and India," he said. In industry, the initiative was not successful. Until the question is resolved, the clash of arguments and cross-references are guaranteed.

This Thursday the issue will be discussed again in the Council on the WTO Intellectual Property Agreements (TRIPS), in order to agree a position ahead of the December 17 meeting, when a decision should be made. But everything suggests that the more prosperous nations will not change their minds by then. An example of this is the position of the European Union, to which Spain adheres.

"Intellectual property rights should not and should not be suspended, as Article 31 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights already offers sufficient flexibility, through the establishment of a special compulsory licensing system, to to be able to cope with the supply and distribution of medicines and medical devices during the vocid-19 pandemic ”, argue the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Commerce. "There is no evidence that intellectual property rights constitute a real barrier to drugs and technologies related to covid-19".

Intellectual property rights should not and should not be suspended – Spanish Ministry of Industry and Commerce

EU member countries see it as more useful to fund global coronavirus response funds than India and South Africa's proposal which would only be able to discourage innovation, the Commission's commercial sources say. The proof of this is that Europe will allocate nearly $ 16 billion "for universal access to tests, drugs, devices and vaccinations for the disease and to achieve global recovery," they say. "Many pharmaceutical companies have made public commitments and are already working closely with governments to ensure that vaccines are available and accessible to all who need them," they said.

These mechanisms, funds and promises do not guarantee equal access, according to Irene Bernal, researcher with the Health By Right access to medicine team. “We are seeing that whoever has the money has access. 53 percent of the vaccines we took were taken by 14 percent of the population. The rich, ”he argues. “And companies have limited production capacity: when will the doses arrive in the poorest countries? The suspension of patents would allow for large-scale production sufficient to better supply the market, ”he argues.

In this sense, sources of the European Commission indicate that there have been agreements on the expansion of production capacity. “For example, AstraZeneca has agreements with companies in Italy, the UK, China and Russia to support the production, procurement and distribution of vaccines,” they say. “It also has a technology transfer agreement with the Serum Institute of India to deliver doses to low- and middle-income countries. BioNTech is partnering with Fosun Pharma to supply the Chinese market. And there are other examples ”.

India and South Africa do not believe it is enough. The Asian country's statement at the TRIPS Council meeting on November 20 harshly denounced the position of the northern nations: "On the one hand, these countries are buying as many supplies as possible that are limited, leaving no vaccines for countries on the way. of development and less advanced. On the other hand, and in a very strange way, they are the same ones who argue against the need for the exemption which can help to increase production and supply worldwide to obtain not only fair but also timely and affordable access to all countries".

Spain is not exempt from this type of criticism with double standards. I In a letter addressed to the government to change its position, MSF and Law Health stress that not supporting the Indian and South African initiative runs counter to the commitment made in the joint response strategy of cooperation for the Covid crisis. This strategy reads: "Spain will be proactive in promoting intellectual property policies aimed at facilitating this universal and equitable access, which will focus on open, shared, non-exclusive globally and non-time-limited licenses, especially with regard to the results that they are the fruit of public money ".

“There has been an unprecedented public contribution in research into COVID-19 technologies, drugs and vaccines. In this way we are reducing the risk for the companies, ”Bernal points out. In his opinion, this is one more reason to temporarily suspend protection on all this knowledge in order to defeat the disease. It would not be the first time. There are precedents of exceptional measures.

In the case of patents, pharmaceutical companies and other companies have the exclusive right to use and exploit the invention, in this case the medicine or vaccine, for 20 years after its grant. However, in 2001, the Doha Declaration recognized the right of governments to take all necessary measures to eliminate patents and other barriers to intellectual property in order to prioritize public health over commercial interests. It was adopted in response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic that was killing thousands of patients in developing countries because they could not afford to buy antiretrovirals. Especially in South Africa, which is now promoting another revolution in the system. After that agreement, "the prices of the treatment dropped from $ 1,000 to $ 100 in a few years," recalls Raquel González, head of external relations at Médicos Sin Fronteras Spain.

This is a radical proposal for a precise moment in history with an extraordinary situation. The pandemic is and requires exceptional measures because the current system is not ready – Raquel González, Msf

“This is a bet, a radical proposal for a specific moment in history with an extraordinary situation. The pandemic is extraordinary and requires exceptional measures because the current system is not prepared, ”notes the MSF representative. If we were to resort to the flexibilities of current legislation, which are sufficient for the EU, each country would have to justify and withdraw the patent drug by drug on a case by case basis. “It's a cumbersome process and we are in a race against time,” he adds.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA) believes, however, that "the dilution of intellectual property rights is counterproductive" because "it will undermine confidence in what has proven to be a well-functioning system, allowing industry to collaborate confidently with the academic world, research institutes, foundations and other private companies ”. This is what it says in a statement. "The industry remains committed to ensuring fair and equitable access to treatments and vaccines for covid-19," he notes.

Farmaindustria, a member of the World Industry Association, argues that the unprecedented research, which has led to nearly 1,000 clinical trials on the disease, more than 130 investigational drugs and 100 vaccine projects, "would not have been possible without the 'existence for years of a predictable regulatory framework, based on industrial property laws and on the existence of global patents to protect innovation ”.

For Mark Suzman, executive director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "in 2021, the world must focus on maximizing production and distribution fairly." In order for technologies, drugs and, above all, vaccines to reach the entire planet at the same time, "funds are needed to negotiate prices and reserve doses". The international mechanism that was created to achieve this goal is the bet to make it happen: Covax, a platform of rich and poor countries to join forces in this line. The goal of this alliance is to provide 187 partners with 2 billion vaccines by 2021, even to the 92 low- and middle-income countries that cannot afford to buy them.

We want vaccines to reach the poor as quickly and cheaply as possible. The AMC grants them access to the price – Mark Suzman, Gates Foundation

To ensure that resource-poor countries receive them in equal quantities to prosperous countries, the Covax Advance Market (AMC) instrument was created, a fund that draws on official development assistance from donors and contributions from the private sector and philanthropy to guarantee very accessible prices to the most precarious economies. “We want vaccines to reach the poor as quickly and cheaply as possible. The AMC guarantees access at no cost, ”he explains. It takes money to get it, and this piggy bank already has over $ 2 billion ('1.65 billion). "But we are worried because it is not enough, another 5 billion is needed to vaccinate 20 percent of the population by 2021", he stresses in a virtual meeting with journalists. Therefore, the Gates Foundation will contribute an additional $ 250 million (€ 207 million) to the global response against covid-19, he reveals, bringing the body's total commitments to $ 1,750 million (€ 1,450).

“The EU has been a leader in supporting Covax AMC,” Suzman said. The European Commission allocated € 100 million to this fund in mid-November. France has donated another 100 and Spain 50. The fear of those who support the suspension of the patent is that, even with the support of Covax AMC, there will be countries that will stay out or get it all too late. To date, this fund has taken 700,000 vaccines out of the $ 2 billion it needs to fulfill its mission in 2021. That's what MSF's Gonzalez says. “We already see this with the Global Alliance for Vaccines (Gavi): there are those who do not have access. Covax is a step forward, but we are asking to go further ”, he concludes.

(Extract from the press review of Eprcomunicazione )