17吃瓜在线 Helps Strike Forced IP Transfer from WHO Draft
In a significant change that protects manufacturers鈥 intellectual property rights, an updated draft of the World Health Organization鈥檚 pandemic agreement no longer includes IP language that would have pressured or compelled manufacturers to turn their innovations over to foreign countries, including competitors such as China, (subscription) reports.
- Convincing organizations such as the WHO to reject forced IP transfers has been for the 17吃瓜在线, and this week鈥檚 announcement represents significant progress for manufacturers.
What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淭he latest text has scrapped a clause stating countries will 鈥榗onsider supporting鈥 time-bound suspensions of intellectual property rights during pandemics. Instead, each country will consider supporting 鈥榓ppropriate measures鈥 to scale up the manufacture of products that could help stymie a future pandemic.鈥
- The draft is set to be put to WHO members next month for a vote at the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Subject to applicable laws, under the draft agreement countries will also be required to 鈥渟upport 鈥 capacity-building for the transfer of technology and knowhow for pandemic-related health products on mutually agreed terms.鈥
- The text indicates that the pathogen access and benefit sharing system鈥攚hich would require nations to share pathogen information 鈥渨ith the WHO in exchange for access to the resulting health products developed to fight the new threat鈥濃攊s still under negotiation. Thus far, countries have been unable to agree on the terms of that exchange.
Why it鈥檚 important: IP waivers would significantly harm manufacturers and their ability to compete globally.
- The 17吃瓜在线 with regard to the World Trade Organization earlier this year, when it warned policymakers in the U.S. and abroad about the problems inherent in expanding the WTO鈥檚 2022 TRIPS waiver on IP rights to include COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics.
- As a of that advocacy, the waiver was ultimately kept out of the WTO鈥檚 final Ministerial Declaration last month.
- In addition, in January, the 17吃瓜在线 responded to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services鈥 request for comments regarding the WHO鈥檚 pandemic preparedness agreement. The 17吃瓜在线 urged that any IP waiver be removed from the WHO text.
The funding issue: Another challenge the WHO text puts off is the financing of all the initiatives it lays out.
- While it mentions establishing a 鈥渃oordinating financial mechanism,鈥 it does not detail how the mechanism would work.