'Risk Of Reducing Innovation, R&D': World Bank Opposed Waiving IP Rights For Covid Vaccine At WTO

Even optimistic supporters acknowledge an IP waiver could take months to finalize because of solid resistance from some countries and WTO rules that require consensus on such decisions.

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New Delhi: The World Trade Center has been taking proposals suggesting easing patent and intellectual property rights on the Covid-19 vaccine, a move which is welcomed by the Biden administration & other rich countries. However, the World Bank disagrees with the move stating it will hamper innovation in the pharmaceuticals sector.

India, South Africa, and other emerging vaccines have argued that the waiver is needed to expand vaccine access so that countries can vaccinate their population faster.

World Bank President David Malpass said on Tuesday the bank does not support waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. Malpass was quoted by Reuters as saying “We don’t support that, for the reason that it would run the risk of reducing the innovation and the R&D in that sector.” 

Many pharmaceutical industries have too said that it would stifle innovation and do little to effectively increase vaccine supplies constrained by trade barriers, shortages of components, and a lack of manufacturing capabilities. These industries oppose the waiver from the WTO’s agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). 

Further, World Bank said its global growth forecasts, raised to 5.6% for 2021 and 4.3% for 2022, could be higher if vaccinations can be accelerated in developing countries. Malpass reiterated his calls for rich countries to donate their excess vaccines to the developing world. 

According to media reports, even optimistic supporters of TRIPS acknowledge that this could take months to finalize because of WTO rules that require consensus on such decisions & some countries which oppose the move. Doctors Without Borders, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian agency, faulted the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, and other holdouts on the IP waiver idea Monday for employing alleged “delaying tactics", a PTI report said.