Country: ARGENTINA, BANGLADESH, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, CHILE, EGYPT, INDONESIA, LEBANON, LUXEMBOURG, MALAYSIA, MEXICO, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PANAMA, PERU, PORTUGAL, SOUTH AFRICA, SRI LANKA, URUGUAY | Region: AFRICA, ASIA & SOUTH PACIFIC, EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA | Type: Policy | Keywords: #access #affordability #c-tap #covid-19 #healthtechnologypool #iprights #vaccines #voluntaryscheme #who
- Thirty countries and a variety of international partners and institutions have signed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), an initiative first proposed by Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado to make vaccines, tests, treatments, and other health technologies used in the fight against COVID-19 accessible to all
- Aiming to expedite the discovery of vaccines, medicines, and other technologies to combat the virus, C-TAP will be voluntary, providing a “one-stop shop” for scientific data, knowledge, and intellectual property (IP) to be shared with the global community
- The initiative consists of five key elements: public disclosure of gene sequences and data; transparency around the publication of all clinical trial results; governments and other funders are encouraged to include clauses in funding agreements with pharmaceutical companies and other innovators about equitable distribution, affordability, and publication of trial data; licensing any potential treatment, diagnostic, vaccine or other health technology to the United Nation’s (UN) Medicines Patent Pool; and promotion of open innovation models and technology transfer that increase local manufacturing and supply capacity, including through joining the Open COVID Pledge and the Technology Access Partnership (TAP)
THE DETAILS
GENEVA, Switzerland – Thirty countries and a variety of international partners and institutions have signed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), an initiative first proposed by Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado to make vaccines, tests, treatments, and other health technologies used in the fight against COVID-19 accessible to all.
The following countries have backed the C-TAP: Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, Indonesia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Mozambique, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, The Netherlands, Timor-Leste, Uruguay, Zimbabwe
Aiming to expedite the discovery of vaccines, medicines, and other technologies to combat the virus, C-TAP will be voluntary, providing a “one-stop shop” for scientific data, knowledge, and intellectual property (IP) to be shared with the global community.
The initiative consists of five key elements:
- public disclosure of gene sequences and data;
- transparency around the publication of all clinical trial results;
- governments and other funders are encouraged to include clauses in funding agreements with pharmaceutical companies and other innovators about equitable distribution, affordability, and publication of trial data;
- licensing any potential treatment, diagnostic, vaccine or other health technology to the United Nation’s (UN) Medicines Patent Pool; and
- promotion of open innovation models and technology transfer that increase local manufacturing and supply capacity, including through joining the Open COVID Pledge and the Technology Access Partnership (TAP).
WHO, Costa Rica, and all co-sponsor countries likewise issued a “Solidarity Call to Action” to ask relevant stakeholders to join and support this global initiative.
President Alvarado of Costa Rica, said, “The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool will ensure the latest and best science benefits all of humanity. Vaccines, tests, diagnostics, treatments and other key tools in the coronavirus response must be made universally available as global public goods”.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “Global solidarity and collaboration are essential to overcoming COVID-19. Based on strong science and open collaboration, this information-sharing platform will help provide equitable access to life-saving technologies around the world.”
Industry Against IP Pool Clauses, Despite Support for Equitable Distribution
However, major pharmaceutical companies have called the initiative “nonsense,” citing nationalism as a main inhibitor to equal access due to the potential for bidding wars and global shortages, reported The Guardian.
Companies support efforts to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 but expressed concern over the pooling of IP rights. If pooled, vaccines and treatments would be up for grabs by generic drugmakers.
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