COVID-19 and Intellectual Property Issues

The aim of this chapter is to explore the stakes at play in relation to the proposed COVID-19 IP waiver, assess what other factors affect access to COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics worldwide, and briefly discuss initiatives taken at different levels to improve access to countries lagging behind. With 458 million cases of COVID-19 diagnosed worldwide and more than 6 million deaths by March 2022, the question is whether lifting intellectual property rights (IPRs) restrictions is the solution to unlock the sanitary crisis in developing countries. Policymakers need to be attentive to the impact and role of patents as incentive mechanism and be open to address patent system reforms, but attention should also be paid to IP-related voluntary initiatives and the advantages conferred by other factors, such as first mover advantages, reliance on prior scientific advances, market exclusivity provided by regulatory approvals, advanced purchase agreements, “vaccine nationalism,” data exclusivity from clinical trials, and know-how protected by secrecy. A global approach and more empirical evidence are needed to address the inequalities derived from this pandemic in order to be prepared for the next.