MSF/PHM SA technical brief: Removing intellectual property barriers from COVID19 vaccines and treatment for people in South Africa

We would like to share a tech-brief by the Access Campaign and PHM-SA on removing intellectual property barriers from COVID19 vaccines and treatment for people in South Africa. Emphasising how IP barriers can undermine access to medicines, particularly looking at Moderna’s MRNA vaccine and the recently recommended covid-19 medicine Baracitinib.

https://msfaccess.org/removing-intellectual-property-barriers-covid-19-vaccines-and-treatments-people-south-africa

Intellectual property (IP) barriers can undermine access to medicines. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a stark example, with limited access to COVID-19 medical tools like vaccines and treatments in South Africa due in part to IP barriers. This briefing paper highlights the present and emerging IP barriers for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and provides an analysis of policy and legal changes that are required to address them in the South African context and beyond.

These include reforms of South Africa’s national patent laws, use of compulsory licenses, revocation of lapsed and unmerited patents, and rejection of patents related to COVID-19 medical tools. At the global level, the South African government together with the Indian government, has taken the lead in proposing a waiver from certain IP rules at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and all countries should support this proposal. In addition, patent-holding companies should refrain from seeking or enforcing patents in South Africa on COVID-19 medical tools and should share their technologies to enable increased manufacturing and greater access.
Read the full MSF/PHM SA technical brief here.