Members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday held a discussion with stakeholders like civil society, business representatives and academia on extending the TRIPS decision to Covid-19 therapeutics and diagnostics, an official said.
The issue was discussed in the Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council meet in an informal thematic session for external stakeholders.
In the meeting, inputs were taken from stakeholders to gather facts and take stock of relevant Covid-19-related developments.
According to the official, representatives from the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, Medicines Law and Policy, Third World Network, and Health Justice Initiative shared their views, highlighting that the situation continues to be dire in many regions.
The official opposed the argument from those against suspending IP for therapeutics and diagnostics that this is now an outdated proposal as the demand is no longer there. Members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday held a discussion with stakeholders like civil society, business representatives and academia on extending the TRIPS decision to Covid-19 therapeutics and diagnostics, an official said.
The issue was discussed in the Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council meet in an informal thematic session for external stakeholders.
In the meeting, inputs were taken from stakeholders to gather facts and take stock of relevant Covid-19-related developments.
According to the official, representatives from the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, Medicines Law and Policy, Third World Network, and Health Justice Initiative shared their views, highlighting that the situation continues to be dire in many regions.
The official opposed the argument from those against suspending IP for therapeutics and diagnostics that this is now an outdated proposal as the demand is no longer there.
Business representatives said IP is a critical enabler of the pandemic innovation response, allowing companies to rapidly develop and commercialise vaccines and therapeutics using existing technology and knowhow.
During the 12th ministerial conference in 2022 in Geneva, it was agreed by the member countries to continue discussion of extending TRIPS waiver to Covid-19 therapeutics and diagnostics, the Geneva-based official said.
India had pitched for increasing efforts at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for getting patent waivers for diagnostics and therapeutics used to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
In June last year, members of the WTO agreed to grant a temporary patent waiver for the manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines for five years.
It was agreed to start talks on including therapeutics and diagnostics, as proposed by India and South Africa, under the purview of this waiver, after six months.
