USTR Discusses Suspension of Intellectual Property Rights with COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is reported to have discussed suspending intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines with major pharmaceutical companies.

On the 26th (local time), USTR announced that Katherine Tai, USTR Representative, held separate virtual meetings with Lou Dudley, Vice President of AstraZeneca BioPharmaceuticals, and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, to discuss the suspension of intellectual property rights. USTR is a White House agency overseeing U.S. trade policy.

As the spread of COVID-19 continues, concerns over severe shortages of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries have been raised. India and South Africa recently proposed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) a temporary waiver of intellectual property regulations related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. In response, USTR met with pharmaceutical companies.

Representative Tai emphasized that the Biden administration's top priority is to save lives and end the pandemic worldwide, including in the United States.

She stated, "We pledge to cooperate with other WTO member countries on the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the role developing countries will play in finding solutions to address the severe gaps in global vaccine production and distribution."

However, pharmaceutical companies reportedly placed more emphasis on increasing vaccine production and distribution rather than suspending intellectual property rights.

According to Bloomberg News, these companies argued that the fastest way for the U.S. to assist developing countries is to directly deliver tens of millions of doses of vaccines already in possession, such as the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been approved for use in the U.S., but it has been manufactured in large quantities due to potential future use. In fact, on the same day, the U.S. government announced a support package for India, where the outbreak is severe, stating it would share all AstraZeneca vaccines it holds with other countries.

During the meeting between Representative Tai and pharmaceutical executives, discussions covered not only the intellectual property waiver proposal but also vaccine production increase plans and global health issues.

USTR reported that Pfizer CEO Bourla expressed the importance of expanding global access to vaccines and shared opinions on ways to increase vaccine production and distribution through trade policy. Meanwhile, Vice President Dudley spoke about the challenges related to increasing vaccine production and distribution.

Although the vaccine shortage in developing countries is becoming increasingly serious, the pharmaceutical industry is reportedly collectively opposed to suspending intellectual property rights. Major companies that developed COVID-19 vaccines, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, oppose the suspension of intellectual property rights. The UK Financial Times (FT) reported that pharmaceutical companies cite concerns over technology theft by China and Russia as a basis for their opposition.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.