I-Com – the Institute for Competitiveness, together with a global coalition of other 23 think tanks and civil society groups, shares the belief that a robust global framework for the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights plays a key role in ensuring the world is prepared for future pandemics.
As such, it has joined the global coalition led by the Geneva Network to call upon WHO delegates – who would gather in Geneva for the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly from Sunday 22 May – to consider the main points of a “Joint declaration on the importance of intellectual property rights in advancing equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics for pandemic preparedness“.
Please find as follows the main points of the Joint Declaration:
- IPRs have been crucial to developing safe and effective vaccines for the current pandemics. They are also crucial for future pandemics.
- Pandemics require rapid scale up of mass vaccine manufacturing. IP makes it happen by facilitating collaborations and partnerships.
- Weakening IP rights would leave the world dependent on unproven vaccine R&D and manufacturing models.
- Vaccine availability can be speeded by harmonisation of regulation.
- Countries should not disrupt vaccine and therapeutic supply chains with trade barriers.
Attached the full declaration.
