WTO: India demands suspension of patent rights of COVID vaccine 

A move by 65 odd nations at the WTO to craft a consensus on softening the patent rules that block access to COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and equipment for large parts of the globe has run into a roadblock, and possibilities of a “comprehensive solution“ to battle the crisis have diminished.

India, on Monday at the 12th Ministerial Conference of WTO, lodged a strong protest and voiced its disappointment over member countries limiting a proposal for waiver of patents on vaccines, drugs and equipment, mooted by India and South African almost 20 months ago. The limitations restricted the proposal “only to vaccines” and further restricted its export only with multiple pre-conditions.

Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal at the closed door thematic session said, “For India, our response to the pandemic would not be complete without a TRIPS waiver.“ 

In a session attended by all WTO members and chaired by DG of WTO Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, he added, “In the course of my discussions, it has been indicated that a favour was being done to the developing countries.I think it's pretty much clear that rather than concern for humanity for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost or the millions affected, it is sad that the super profits of a few pharmaceutical companies prevail over global good.” 

The minister’s scathing attack came after texts of two drafts on the response to the pandemic came up for interventions in the WTO MC-12. While one was an overarching response to the pandemic, the other was specifically on the TRIPS waiver. 

While the proposal by India and South Africa had 100 odd countries supporting, there were 65 odd member countries which had tagged along as co-sponsor.

The Indian waiver proposal included temporary not in perpetuity relaxations in IPR rules on vaccines, drugs and equipment. It also included therapeutics and diagnostics to assist poor nations in battling the ongoing and future pandemics.

The text of the document on overarching response speaks about four key elements - trade measures in form of policies and disciplines, role of services in economic recovery, transparency in countries sharing domestic measures that may impact trade. 

India objected to the export restriction clause in the text and stated that these cannot be accepted beyond the policy space of current agreement and be blanket in character. However India agreed to the need for transparency with a rider that developing and less developed countries do not have the capacity to usher in transparency like developed nations.

In his intervention during the thematic session to showcase the efforts made by India, Goyal said, “India has made several compromises along the way to make this possible, like the TRIPS automaticity clause, which was not accepted, extensive dilution of the language on IP and tech transfer; a muted ambition on food security and economic resilience, compromises on a strong forward-looking agenda on these issues, resolution of the issue of developing countries and LDCs, acceptance of issues and language we have not been comfortable with in areas of transparency, export restriction, market openness and developing countries etc. We hope the flexibility that we have shown will pave the way for its acceptance and also be replicated in other tracks for a successful MC-12.” He urged members not to disturb what he called a “delicately poised document” even slightly as that would unravel the months-long complex negotiations and will run the risk of failing an outcome close to achieving.

In another setback to developing nations the push for including diagnostics and therapeutic in the text has not succeeded. The idea behind the inclusion was to expand the manufacture and distribution of expensive patent protected equipment like testing machines and ventilators, which are critical in battling the current pandemic and those which may arrive in future. Backing these, several members stated that there cannot be a pandemic response which does not deliver an effective and workable document on TRIPS.

He added that the text formulated after consensus-based discussions does not reflect what India as a co-sponsor of the waiver proposal had envisaged. 

To underline that the draft was inadequate and dismissive of global realities he said, “It has taken us nearly over a year and a half to reach this stage. Vaccines are no more in scarcity with sufficient and affordable stocks available across the world. In fact, vaccines are now getting wasted due to expiry dates. Yet there is opposition to some of the clauses even now. There is opposition to including therapeutics and diagnostics, which could at least pave the way in the future to tackle any crisis.”

Also read: India tears into those opposing patent waiver on COVID vaccine at WTO

Also read: India ramped up medical supplies amid COVID, WTO couldn’t respond with alacrity: Piyush Goyal