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WTO relaxes COVID-19 vaccine patent controls for developing countries
Trumping lobbies from pharmaceutical companies, the trade forum passed the deal on a partial IP waiver to allow developing countries to produce and export COVID-19 vaccines, an issue that had the WTO nations divided for nearly two years.
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What a waste: Vials of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on March 22. As many as 4,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines were found expired in Kudus regency, Central Java. (JP/Antara/Syaiful Arif)
T
he World Trade Organization concluded a landmark bundle of deals on Friday covering COVID-19 vaccines, fishing subsidies and e-commerce following hectic round-the-clock talks.
WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said trade ministers had struck an "unprecedented package of deliverables" that would make a difference to people's lives across the planet.
The talks at the global trade body's Geneva headquarters began on Sunday and were due to wrap up on Wednesday. But instead, the WTO's 164 members went through two straight nights before getting the package over the line at around 5 a.m. on Friday.
"Not in a long while has the WTO seen such a significant number of multilateral outcomes," Okonjo-Iweala said.
The package included the two highest-profile deals under consideration—on fisheries and on a partial waiver of intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines.
Trumping lobbies from pharmaceutical companies, the trade forum passed the deal on a partial IP waiver to allow developing countries to produce and export COVID-19 vaccines, an issue that had the WTO nations divided for nearly two years.
Some countries that host major pharmaceutical companies, like the United Kingdom and Switzerland, found the initial draft wording worrisome. It has also drawn the fiercest criticism from campaign groups that say it barely expands on an existing exemption in WTO rules and is too narrow by not covering therapeutics and diagnostics.
