WTO proposal to waive COVID vaccine IP rights puts pandemic response at risk, says EFPIA

Following the release of a draft text for the World Trade Organization (WTO)-led waiver on intellectual property (IP) for COVID-19 vaccines, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) calls on governments across Europe and around the world to urgently rethink discussions on a COVID vaccine waiver and instead focus on the real barriers to global vaccine equity.

Commenting on its release, EFPIA’s director general Nathalie Moll said: “The draft proposal from the WTO completely undermines the very research-ecosystem that gave us vaccines to protect citizens against COVID-19. It seeks to solve a vaccine production issue that no longer exists, while at the same time, diverts attention and urgently needed effort away from the real barriers to global vaccine equity.”

Since it was first proposed in 2020, the lack of international consensus, immediate concerns over the effectiveness and negative impact of the proposal meant it was soon overtaken by events. Industry increased capacity to be able to produce over 1 billion doses a month and continuous investment in manufacturing together with 371 licensing agreements meant reaching the milestone of 12 billion doses by January 2022.