WTO seeks shot in the arm with COVID-19 jab IP idea

WTO seeks shot in the arm with COVID-19 jab IP idea

GENEVA: The WTO’s search for a role in fighting the pandemic sharpened up on Monday as ministers seek a compromise to lift intellectual property (IP) rights on COVID-19 vaccines. The World Trade Organization’s first ministerial meeting since December 2017 is wrestling with the wording of a text that would temporarily waive patents on coronavirus jabs. It is the main pandemic-combating idea being negotiated at MC12, the global trade body’s 12th ministerial conference, being held from Sunday to Wednesday at its headquarters in Geneva.

But serious objections remain from some of the countries that host major pharmaceutical companies, like Britain and Switzerland – a problem at the WTO, where decisions are taken by consensus rather than by majority. The world’s big pharma firms are dead set against the idea, insisting that stripping patents will cripple investment and innovation.

They also say the plan – first proposed in October 2020 when the pandemic was raging and before jabs were even rolled out – has gone past its sell-by date as the world now has a surplus of vaccine doses rather than a dearth. After Sunday’s opening ceremony and countries setting out their positions, ministers from the 164 WTO members went into rooms at the