ABPI response to TRIPS waiver proposals

In response to draft text for the WTO-led waiver on IP for COVID-19 vaccines, Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said:

“Strong intellectual property protections underpinned the rapid development of vaccines and treatments against COVID-19. The draft proposals from the WTO completely undermine this system and seek to resolve a problem that doesn’t exist.

“Rather than support the efforts already underway to get COVID-19 vaccines to people in lower- and middle-income countries, these proposals will divert attention away from workable solutions and undermine the research needed to protect us from future pandemics.”

The pharmaceutical industry has increased vaccine production capacity to over 1 billion doses a month. Continuous investment in manufacturing, together with 371 licensing agreements on vaccines, meant reaching the milestone of 12 billion doses by January 2022.

Boosting equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines

Industry has also put forward its three priorities for increasing access to COVID-19 vaccines:

• Step up support for country readiness to roll out COVID-19 vaccine doses
• Contribute to equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine doses
• Continue to drive innovation