Pharma association terms Biden move on vaccine patent 'wrong answer'

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations said on 5 May that the US president Joe Biden's support for waiving patents of Covid-19 vaccines was "the wrong answer" to a complex problem and called for more technology transfer agreements.

The Geneva-based IFPMA, which represents research-based pharmaceutical companies, said in a statement: "Waiving patents of Covid-19 vaccines will not increase production nor provide practical solutions needed to battle this global health crisis. On the contrary, it is likely to lead to disruption."

The real challenges are trade barriers, bottlenecks in supply chains, scarcity of raw materials, and "willingness by rich countries to start sharing doses with poor countries", it said.