Canada must support the TRIPS intellectual property waiver
Dear Editor,
“We now face the real danger that even as vaccines bring hope to some, they become another brick in the wall of inequality between the world’s haves and have-nots.”
These words, spoken by the WHO’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus signal a debate over vaccines, IP, and the deadly divide between high-income countries and low-and-middle-income countries.
The scientific community has mobilized in extraordinary ways since the initial outbreak of
COVID-19; the development of COVID-19 vaccines moved at unrivaled rates. Given the global spread, vaccine rollout across the world is a critical aspect of bringing the pandemic to an end.
The past several months, however, have seen a competition between high-income countries racing to get access to these essential medicines. This approach will only prolong the pandemic, and greatly exacerbate existing inequities between the privileged and the marginalized.
In addition to gross displays of vaccine nationalism, wealthy countries have created more barriers in restricting vaccine production. South Africa and India applied at the World Trade
Organization in October 2020 for a temporary intellectual property (IP) waiver on COVID-19 equipment, drugs, and vaccines. Waiving Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
(TRIPS), would allow manufacturers in these countries to ramp up global production- allowing more citizens in low- and middle-income countries to access these indispensable commodities.
TRIPS protects forms of IP, including patented pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, ensuring that drug manufacturers can only produce patented drugs if they obtain a costly license. Pharmaceutical companies claim that IP laws provide incentives for research labs to promote the development of expensive treatments. However, patent protection also drives up drug prices and limits access to essential medicine.
The proposal to waive TRIPS now has the support of 57 countries. Several high income countries, including Canada, have refused to support it. The debate is not without precedent discussions surrounding IP and pharmaceutical treatments have been prevalent, especially concerning global health issues, such as HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. In the 1990s, AIDS activists defended the right to disregard IP rights; both the South African and Brazilian governments passed laws giving their respective ministries the ability to produce, purchase, and import low-cost antiretrovirals. These debates gave way to the Doha Declaration, in which the WTO emphasized that the TRIPS agreement “does not and should not prevent member governments from acting to protect public health.”
COVID-19 represents one of the most major public health crises of our time – our best chance of ending COVID everywhere is to ensure a vaccine is available for all as a global public good. Canada must support the TRIPS intellectual property waiver and put people’s lives ahead of publicly-subsidized pharmaceutical company profits.
Frances Walker