WHO patent pool for potential Covid-19 products is ‘nonsense’, pharma leaders claim

A researcher working on a coronavirus vaccine in a lab in Sussex
A researcher working on a coronavirus vaccine in a lab in Sussex Credit: A researcher working on a coronavirus vaccine in a lab in Sussex

Pharmaceutical giants have branded as “nonsense” a voluntary scheme to share information, including trial data and patent rights, to develop and widely distribute coronavirus treatments, vaccines and diagnostics.

The initiative, launched by the World Health Organization and Costa Rica on Friday, was proposed to lower production costs and increase access to medical supplies worldwide. 

The objections of big pharma could yet scupper it.

“Anything that’s new will always face resistance,” said Jose Mauricio, director of communications at the non-governmental organisation Unitaid.  “But we will not be able to fulfil global demand for diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines if there isn't a global approach – which is what the new call to action promotes.” 

There are growing concerns that nationalism may hamper global cooperation and trigger bidding wars and global shortages, as countries scramble to gain access to tools that could contain the pandemic. Already countries including the US and UK have signed deals to secure supplies for their populations first.

So far 35 countries including Norway, the Netherlands and India - one of the world’s largest generic drug manufacturers - have signed up to the initiative, called the Covid-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP).

But while pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson said they supported efforts to ensure the “equitable distribution” of vaccines and treatments, their executives condemned the concept of intellectual property (IP) pools during a press briefing on Thursday. 

“I think it is nonsense and at this point of time it’s also dangerous,” said Dr Albert Bourla, chief executive of Pfizer. “There’s a giant effort right now happening to find a solution.The risks we are taking [represent] billions of dollars and the chances of developing something are still not very good.

“So to have a discussion, to say keep in mind that if you discover [a vaccine or drug], we are going to take your IP, I think it’s dangerous,” he said. 

Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, who have partnered with Oxford University to develop and distribute a potential vaccine and received millions in funding from the UK government, added: “I think IP is a fundamental part of our industry and if you don't protect IP, then essentially there is no incentive for anybody to innovate.”

And asked if he would attend the virtual launch event on Friday afternoon Thomas Cueni, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) responded: “I’m too busy.” 

During the World Health Assembly last week a resolution proposed by the European Union calling for equitable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics was passed almost unanimously. The US alone distanced itself from the motion, saying any surrendering of IP rights would stifle innovation. 

But commentators have claimed that the resolution was watered down in advance of the meeting due to pressure from the pharmaceutical industry, particularly around the concept of voluntary patent pools.

These could put pharmaceuticals under pressure to give up the monopolies on vaccines and therapeutics – which allow them to charge high prices – and would enable all countries and manufacturers to make or buy affordable versions, called “generic” drugs. This could help the world ramp up production of drugs and vaccines. 

“The fastest way to get a vaccine to every individual, in every country, is for every company and organisation involved in research and development to share their know-how, their data, and their patents," said Anna Marriott, health policy manager for Oxfam.

“The pharmaceutical industry’s attempt to rubbish the WHO’s initiative suggests that they care more for profits than people’s health.  Vaccine development is being bank rolled with public money - big pharma should not be allowed to treat it like a private asset.” 

The C-TAP scheme comes after the WHO announced the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (C-ACT) last month, which has gained widespread support from governments, pharmaceutical companies and non-governmental organisations. The scheme agreed broadly to work together to advance the development of therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics for Covid-19. 

But the framework for ensuring that end products are accessible to all is far from agreed and many experts see licensing as a major barrier.

The new access pool been described as a vital step towards establishing concrete proposals for ensuring “equitable distribution” of supplies is achieved  and has been described as a "one-stop shop" for scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property to be shared worldwide.

"Tools to prevent, detect and treat Covid-19 are global public goods that must be accessible by all people," Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said at the launch event. "Science is giving us solutions, but to make those solutions work for everyone, we need solidarity"

Dr Peter Beyer, senior adviser at the WHO, insisted that the scheme would not prevent companies seeing a return on investment or see the intellectual property seized, with a focus on voluntary contributions and generic licensing. 

“This doesn't preclude that you can earn money from products, because they can make money from royalties,” he said. “And this is not a call against IP – companies should file for patents around the world. But intellectual property sharing is a good thing, it enables faster development in these times of crisis.”

Unitaid and the Medicines Patent Pool – a UN backed agency that has agreed generic licenses for HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis drugs with pharmaceutical giants for use in lower-income countries – have also expressed support for the new scheme.  

“Already we have seen with face masks and PPE, countries have been scrambling to get them,” said Karin Timmermans, an expert in intellectual property and access at Unitaid. “If something is not done, it’s a very likely scenario that when there is a vaccine or effective treatment this will happen again. And always the same countries will be missing out.

“That is what Costa Rica’s proposal and the initiative being launched today seeks to address – it puts in one place a comprehensive system of sharing all the information, data, rights that would be needed to enable rights based manufacturing.”

She added that previous initiatives have focused on tiered pricing – with developing countries paying less to access the same drugs via generic licenses. But this approach is unlikely to work during a pandemic when everyone needs access to the same medical products at the same time, said Ms Timmermans.   

Dr Peter Beyer added that there were four key elements of the call to action, due to be launched later today. 

These include: public disclosure of gene sequences and data in research; transparency around the publication of all clinical trial results; encouraging governments to include clauses in contracts with pharmaceutical companies about equitable distribution and the publication of trial data; and licensing any potential treatment or vaccine to the Medicines Patent Pool "to the masses".

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