Bloomberg Law
May 7, 2021, 1:25 PM UTC

Pharma Has Limited Legal Options If Vaccine Patents Waived (1)

Ian Lopez
Ian Lopez
Bloomberg Law
Tina Davis
Tina Davis
Bloomberg News

A potential World Trade Organization <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"QSOVD8DWX2Q0","_id":"00000179-4701-d779-a37b-cfb7b2220000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">waiver of patent and trade secret protections for Covid-19 vaccines would leave pharmaceutical companies with limited legal avenues to recover costs.

The U.S. on Wednesday expressed support for a temporary waiver, sending shares in several vaccine makers <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"QSOTKCDWLU6X","_id":"00000179-4701-d779-a37b-cfb7b2230000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">downthe next day. The issue now faces <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"QSOQXGDWRGGA","_id":"00000179-4701-d779-a37b-cfb7b2230001","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">thorny negotiations at the WTO, where several members, including <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"QSP08LDWX2Q4","_id":"00000179-4701-d779-a37b-cfb7b2230002","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Germany, have opposed efforts to skirt intellectual property rights. They say it would only complicate production and make companies less likely to respond in the future.

The proposed waiver is intended to ramp up the production and export of vaccines ...

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