Shares in leading western drugmakers down as Biden administration speaks out
Joe Biden has given support to an effort to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for vaccinations as a means of supporting the supply of vaccines to developing countries.
The President and his administration got behind calls for a temporary suspension of current rules as pressure to do so mounted. The Times has reported that Biden’s chief trade negotiator made the case for extra action as the nature of the pandemic so required.
Shares in a number of manufacturers of coronavirus treatments fell as the news emerged.
Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, said it would be in favour pf proposals to allow nations to override patent rights of medical products while the pandemic is ongoing.
The measure has now been backed by dozens of countries, as well as campaign groups and former world leaders, after it was first proposed by South Africa and India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last autumn.
Yesterday’s remarks by Tai represent a significant move towards the campaign coming to fruition after western economies, many of which are home to leading drugmakers, have not put their support behind it.
“The extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” Tai said. “The administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections but, in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines.”
Biden, whose campaign for the presidency last year featured support for a waiver, said he endorsed the move. Asked whether he backed the suspension, he told reporters: “Yes, I’m going to talk about that later today, yes.”
Shortly afterwards, Tai issued her statement. “As our vaccine supply is secured, the administration will continue to ramp up its efforts — working with the private sector and all possible partners — to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution,” she said.
