Why patents are not to blame for slow progress in vaccinating the world

4 January 2022

Adrian Tombling, partner and life sciences sector specialist at European intellectual property firm, Withers & Rogers, offers an Expert View on why patents are not the real barrier and why we need them to guard the human race against the risks posed by COVID-19 mutations or future pandemics.

Some world leaders have been calling for IP rights to be waived to facilitate production of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries such as those in Africa, where just 1% of the population has been vaccinated. But are they right to blame patents for slow progress in vaccinating the world?

Since the start of the pandemic, pharmaceutical companies around the world have been racing to develop a vaccine to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In early 2020, there were numerous research projects underway globally and the vast majority of these have so far failed to find an effective solution. Currently, there are 135 vaccines in clinical development and 194 vaccines in pre-clinical development.

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