Global powers inch closer to agreement to waive Covid vaccine patents

The document detailing the compromise position suggests the negotiated form of the waiver has veered substantially away from the initial proposal first raised by India and South Africa in October 2020, which sought to suspend patents for successful Covid vaccines, treatments and diagnostics – invented by pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer and Moderna – for the duration of the pandemic. The document details a tentative proposal that would still need final agreement from the four negotiators, as well as from all WTO member nations, to be passed. If passed, the compromised version of the waiver will see only patents for Covid-19 vaccines suspended for either three or five years, and means that treatment and testing formulas will still be subject to intellectual property protections.