'WTO compromise on TRIPS waiver is a disgrace', 22 March 2022

"After 18 months of haggling, a leaked counter-proposal covering only vaccines has global health advocates fuming. “Lowest-common denominator,” “worse than nothing,” and “an abomination” are some of the ways international health advocates have described a pared down draft of a compromise “TRIPS Waiver” proposal that leaked to the press on March 16.

It's hard to argue with them. Far from being a true compromise that will benefit global public health, the widely anticipated proposal mainly reflects European kowtowing to Big Pharma and the unreasonable U.S. insistence on limiting the waiver to only vaccines. After 18 months of foot-dragging by wealthy countries at the World Trade Organization, including by Canada, a vote for this outcome would be an extreme disappointment.

Originally pitched by India and South Africa in October 2020, the “TRIPS Waiver” proposal would have temporarily frozen a number WTO-protected intellectual property rights on pandemic-related vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and medical goods like ventilators. The idea was to give countries the legal room to circumvent patent, trademark, and trade secret protections in the WTO Agreement on Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the aim of scaling up production and export of critical vaccines and medications in the battle against COVID-19...

The most glaring flaw is that the waiver would apply only to vaccines, as pitched by the U.S. Clause 8 says members must decide “no later than six months” on whether to extend the waiver to cover the production and distribution of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. But given the stalling on the waiver to date, it’s hardly cynical to expect this deadline to be missed.

What’s upsetting about this limitation to COVID-19 vaccines is that we’re now at a stage in the pandemic when rapid, regular, and affordable testing and treatments are just as important as vaccines. Precisely because Northern countries consumed all the vaccines, leaving low-income nations extremely vulnerable to new, more contagious strains, we owe it to the world to not make the same mistake on life-saving medicines..."