Last checked at 
(Repeats Wednesday article with no change to text)
By John Miller
ZURICH, March 10 (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization
(WTO) council is meeting this week to discuss a proposal by
India and South Africa that COVID-19 vaccine patents be
suspended to speed up technology transfers to manufacturers with
spare production capacity.
The idea seems simple, but some experts say it's not so
clear cut. Below we lay out the reasons.
WHAT'S BEING DISCUSSED?
In October, India and South Africa proposed suspending
provisions of the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property (IP) Rights, or TRIPS, contending they
hinder the COVID-19 fight and curb access to drugs.
Some 100 nations have expressed support, as has Doctors
Without Borders (MSF) and World Health Organization head Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"If a temporary waiver to patents cannot be issued now,
during these unprecedented times," he said, "when will be the
right time?"
MSF has said countries could immediately scale up
production, speeding deliveries to poorer nations that just now,
via the COVAX vaccine sharing scheme led by the GAVI vaccines
alliance, are getting shots after wealthier nations were first
in line.
The WTO's TRIPS Council, designed to monitor and resolve IP
issues, is expected to address the proposal at meetings on
Wednesday or Thursday.
WHY IS IT AN ISSUE NOW?
It has gained more support and attention as concerns grow
about getting shots to the world's poorest people while
shortages of supplies are hampering rollouts in even the
wealthiest regions of the world.
A report by anti-poverty campaigners published last month
said that rich countries have secured more than a billion more
doses than they need, highlighting the divide between rich and
poor.
WHO'S AGAINST IT?
Big drug companies oppose patent waivers, with the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA,
saying there is no evidence it would boost vaccine production or
access. It said in a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden on March
5 that eliminating protections would undermine the global
response to the pandemic, including efforts to tackle new
variants, create confusion that could hurt public confidence in
vaccine safety and create a barrier to information sharing.
"The proposal marks a significant escalation in anti-IP
global activism and will further polarize legitimate
conversations on countries' engagement to combat the pandemic,"
PhRMA said.
Britain, Switzerland and the United States, home to big
pharmaceutical industries, dislike it too.
Industry contends that appropriate patent protections ensure
that private investors have an incentive to pump money into
research and development.
IS THERE A PRECEDENT FOR THIS?
Two decades ago, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe issued
compulsory licences for HIV/AIDS drugs, followed by Indonesia,
Malaysia and Brazil, which meant that governments were allowed
to waive IP rights without the licence owners' consent.
These moves, after talks with drugmakers failed, drastically
cut AIDS drug costs and boosted access.
Advocates including South Africa and India hope their
current waiver push reaps similar results, contending
"unhindered global sharing of technology and know-how" will
expand the COVID-19 response to neglected areas.
IS THERE A CASE OR A NEED FOR IT NOW?
Big Pharma, and even some groups pushing to accelerate
COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to developing nations, say
vaccine-making is difficult, so suspending patents alone won't
bring more shots.
The Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network
(DCVMN), which pushes for more manufacturing in poorer nations,
agrees giving away IP for the pandemic's duration is not the
answer.
Unlike the simpler-to-make AIDS drugs of two decades ago,
complex vaccines require deep cooperation between developers and
manufacturers, DCVMN President Sai Prasad said.
"It's not a single, monolithic IP that can manufacture these
products," said Prasad, also an executive at Indian vaccine
maker Bharat Biotech.
Oxford University's Sarah Gilbert, who partnered with
AstraZeneca on its vaccine, told British lawmakers much
the same.
"I really want to get rid of the idea that we should just be
sharing the IP and let everybody make their own vaccines,"
Gilbert said.
Vaccine makers are already cooperating, too, with Novartis
, Merck and Sanofi pitching in to help
numerous vaccine makers with manufacturing and fill-and-finish
capacity.
Richard Hatchett, who leads the Coalition for Epidemic
Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an alliance promoting vaccine
development, said this week IP barriers were "not an acute
problem", and that bottlenecks like raw material shortages were
a bigger concern.
WHAT MIGHT BE THE OUTCOME OF THIS WEEK'S MEETINGS?
Newly installed WTO head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has hinted at a
compromise, what she called a "third way", to broaden patent
sharing within the existing framework of multilateral rules to
speed the COVID-19 response.
She said in a speech on Tuesday that the TRIPS Council
discussions were vitally important, but "the fact is that each
additional day the vaccine shortage continues, people will pay
with their lives".
Her idea has won support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
an influential U.S. business lobby.
(Reporting by John Miller in Zurich, Stephanie Nebehay in
Geneva, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Phil Blenkinsop in
Brussels;
Editing by Josephine Mason and Nick Macfie)
