Discussions on Exemptions from Intellectual Property Protection Obligations under the WTO
May 11, 2022
Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Chairman Yasufumi Okada
On May 3, 2022, the WTO Secretariat submitted a document to the TRIPS Council regarding the results of informal discussions among the European Union, India, South Africa, and the United States on waivers of intellectual property protection obligations related to COVID-19 (TRIPS waivers); however, this document differs from the views of the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and its member companies.
The production volume of COVID-19 vaccines by pharmaceutical companies in both developing and developed countries reached 12 billion doses within one year of the first vaccine’s approval, and they are currently capable of producing more than 1 billion doses per month.The issue of production shortages has been resolved thanks to unprecedented cooperation involving many companies in both developed and developing countries. This cooperation for the development and scaled-up production of such vaccines was undertaken on the premise of international intellectual property protection.
Vaccine production involves many technical challenges that must be addressed, such as production facilities, raw material procurement, and know-how; the TRIPS waiver does not, in and of itself, enable the expansion of vaccine production.
The TRIPS waiver was proposed in 2020—before COVID-19 vaccines had been approved—as a measure to promote vaccine production; however,as noted above, it is already clear that intellectual property rights are not a barrier to access to COVID-19 vaccines. It is evident that the TRIPS waiver is the wrong solution to the shortage of COVID-19 vaccines and, given that sufficient production volumes are now being achieved, it is a belated and unnecessary solution.
The current challenge is not a shortage of vaccine production, but rather how to deliver vaccines to those who need them. Now that the production shortage has been resolved, the proposal for a TRIPS waiver should be set aside, and discussions should focus on improving the infrastructure—including regulatory agencies, distribution networks, and healthcare professionals—needed to deliver vaccines to those who require them.
We, as pharmaceutical companies, are committed to continuing to do our utmost—while working in even closer collaboration with government agencies and all relevant stakeholders—to bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end as soon as possible and save as many lives as possible.