PHM-Exch> Sign-On: Supporting Waiver Proposal of India and South Africa

Mon Oct 12 08:16:58 PDT 2020

Forwarding on behalf of Sangeeta Shashikant of Third World Network who is
collecting signatures in support of waiver for proposal by South Africa and
India calling for the suspension of the implementation, application and
enforcement of certain TRIPS obligations (patents, copyright, industrial
design, and protection of undisclosed information) for the treatment,
prevention and containment of COVID-19.

If your organization would like to sign on, pls provide your details at
https://forms.gle/LzQExsrVSKJKerg3A by *13th October*.
**********************************************************

Dear All,

Below is a CSO sign-on letter supporting the Waiver Proposal of India and
South Africa that will be discussed at the WTO TRIPS Council meeting on
15-16th October. The Waiver Proposal (IP/C/W/669) is available at
https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/IP/C/W669.pdf&Open=True

The Waiver proposal is effectively calling for suspension of the
implementation, application and enforcement of certain TRIPS obligations
(patents, copyright, industrial design, and protection of undisclosed
information) for the treatment, prevention and containment of COVID-19.

This proposal is  important as it enables an expedited solution to allow
uninterrupted collaboration in development, production and supply, and to
collectively address the global challenge facing all countries.

*If your organization would like to sign on, pls provide your details at
https://forms.gle/LzQExsrVSKJKerg3A <https://forms.gle/LzQExsrVSKJKerg3A>
by 13th October.*

You may also send an email to sangeeta at twnetwork.org  with the name of your
organization and country.

Please DO NOT share this letter that is still collecting signatures on
public/open list servs or on social media.

We look forward to your support.

Regards

Sangeeta Shashikant

Third World Network

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CIVIL SOCIETY LETTER

PROPOSAL BY INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA ON WAIVER FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE
TRIPS AGREEMENT FOR THE PREVENTION, CONTAINMENT AND TREATMENT OF COVID-19

Dear Members of the World Trade Organization,

We the undersigned organisations call on all WTO Members to strongly
support the adoption of the decision text proposed by India and South
Africa in their proposal for “Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS
Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID19” (Waiver
Proposal).

When COVID-19 was declared to be a pandemic, there was overwhelming
consensus that to curb the spread of COVID-19, there was an urgent need for
international collaboration to speed up product development, scale up of
manufacturing, expand the supply of effective medical technologies and
ensure everyone, everywhere is protected. There were even calls including
from several Heads of State for COVID-19 medical products to be treated as
global public goods.

Seven months into the pandemic, there is no meaningful global policy
solution to ensure access. Instead, there is an inequality of access to
critical technologies that are needed to address the pandemic. Many
countries, especially developing and least developed countries struggling
to contain COVID-19 have experienced and are facing acute shortages of
medical products, including access to diagnostic  testing [1].
Furthermore, wealthy nations representing only 13 percent of the global
population have locked up at least half of the world’s potential vaccine
supply [2].

In this pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry has mainly pursued “business
as usual” approaches, entrenching monopolistic intellectual property (IP)
controls over COVID-19 health technologies that restrict scale-up of
manufacturing, lock out diversified suppliers, and undermine competition
that results in lower prices. A few companies, such as Astra Zeneca, have
pledged not for profit prices during the pandemic, and yet by maintaining
control over these technologies, can unilaterally declare the end of the
pandemic and increase prices to maximise profits, even if it undermines
international efforts to save lives [3].

The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) launched by WHO (to voluntarily
share knowledge, IP and data), has been rejected by the pharmaceutical
industry [4].  Instead, companies continue sign secretive and restrictive
licensing agreements [5].  For example, Gilead Sciences’ secret licensing
agreements for remdesivir, a medicine that was developed with substantial
public funding, are restricted to a few manufacturers of its choosing,
thereby preventing low-cost supply to nearly half of the world’s
population. Unsurprisingly, there have been global shortages of the
medicine, with many developing countries yet to see even a single vial of
the treatment exported to them. Given the medicine’s limited effectiveness,
we are deeply concerned that such an approach for a safe and effective
therapy  will exclude even more people from treatment access.

Additionally, emerging intellectual property infringement disputes on
COVID-19 technologies threatens to block collaborative research and
development and manufacturing of  COVID-19 medical products [6] .

These restrictive business strategies have directly translated into
exorbitant pricing and profiteering [7].  With entire health systems
already overwhelmed by COVID-19 and with governments facing a looming
economic crisis, the health budgets of many countries simply cannot sustain
highly priced COVID-19 medical products. These realities will also hinder
production by any competent manufacturer and impede the full freedom to
collaborate, in developing, producing, importing and exporting the needed
medical products.

While the TRIPS Agreement contains flexibilities that can promote access,
many WTO Members may face challenges in using them promptly and
effectively. For instance, compulsory license offers a “product by
product”, and “country by country” approach with variations in national
laws, whereas the pandemic requires collective global action to tackle IP
barriers and facilitate technology transfer. Where the IP barrier is beyond
patents, national laws may not provide for sufficient flexibilities.
Further, Article 31bis, a mechanism to supply countries with insufficient
manufacturing capacity, does not provide an expedited solution and  many
countries have also opted out of using the mechanism.

Unless concrete steps are taken at the global level to address intellectual
property and technology barriers, the abovementioned failures and
shortcomings will replay as new medicines, vaccines and other medical
products are rolled out. Access will have to be rationed, with devastating
effects for public health and global economic recovery.

*In a global pandemic where every country is affected, we need a global
solution.* Adoption of a Waiver at the WTO level will suspend
implementation, application and enforcement of the relevant provisions of
the TRIPS Agreement in relation to  prevention, containment, and treatment
of COVID-19. It enables an expedited, open and automatic global solution to
allow uninterrupted collaboration in development, production and supply,
and to collectively address the global challenge facing all countries. It’s
time for governments to take collective responsibility and put people’s
lives before corporate monopolies.

*Therefore, we strongly request you to unequivocally support the adoption
of the proposed Waiver at the upcoming TRIPS Council meeting. *

[1]
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/LDC-testing-30-Sep.pdf

[2]Small group of rich nations have bought up more than half the future
supply of leading COVID-19 vaccine contenders,
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/small-group-rich-nations-have-bought-more-half-future-supply-leading-covid-19

[3]Astra Zeneca vaccine document shows limit of no-profit pledge, Financial
Times, 7th October 2020.

[4]Pharma leaders shoot down WHO voluntary pool for patent rights on
Covid-19 products, Pharmalot, 28th May 2020.

[5]Voluntary licenses and access to medicines, MSF October 2020,
https://msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/MSF-AC_IP_VoluntaryLicenses_summary-brief_Oct2020.pdf

[6]See for example: Pfizer-BioNTech, Regeneron sued for patent infringement
with COVID-19 products

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-biontech-regeneron-sued-for-infringement-allele-s-patent-their-covid-19-products;
Lawsuit reveals intellectual property is holding back production of CEPI-
and Gates Foundation-funded COVID-19 vaccine candidate,
https://twn.my/title2/briefing_papers/twn/Hammond.pdf; Pandemic
intellectual property dispute deepens as Inovio iscountersued, leaving its
COVID-19 candidate in limbo,
https://twn.my/title2/briefing_papers/twn/Inovio%20countersued%20IP-COVID%20Jul%202020%20Hammond.pdf;
Patent dispute looms as a major complication for Moderna’s COVID-19
vaccine,
https://twn.my/title2/briefing_papers/twn/Moderna%20IP-COVID%20Aug%202020%20Hammond.pdf

[7]For example, price of remdesivir in the US amounts to US$ 3120 per
treatment and licensed generic versions in India cost US$ from 587 to 792
per treatment course, while the estimated minimum cost to manufacture
remdesivir with a reasonable profit margin is only US$ 9 per treatment
course.
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