COMMENTARY: Vaccine distribution and intellectual property

The COVID-19 virus was a huge blow to the world with sickness, death and lockdowns. The United States was the first to develop safe and effective vaccines. It was the investment made into our biotech industry that made this happen.

This might be undone, however, by an act of goodwill and the best of intentions. A proposal supported by the Biden administration to suspend intellectual property protections on COVID vaccines and treatments could cause a number of problems.

On Oct. 2, India and South Africa petitioned the World Trade Organization to suspend intellectual property protections on COVID vaccines and treatments, which they claim is necessary to expand global access. In May of this year, the Biden administration issued a statement of support for the waiver. In other words, the administration is supporting a misguided proposal to waive intellectual property rights, supposedly to boost COVID-19 vaccine production

Over the past decades, and with bipartisan support, the United States has steadfastly opposed the release of patent protections that safeguard America’s biomedical research and development. This was done not only to protect the intellectual property of the U.S. biopharmaceutical companies but also to ensure drug safety, efficacy and purity.

Despite the false claims to the contrary, intellectual property rights are not what is holding back the production. Even further, the WTO rules already allow low-income countries to force drugmakers to license their patents during emergencies. And many of these countries have already been granted licensing agreements.

What is actually holding back vaccine production is the bolstering of manufacturing, finding and securing properly trained and skilled workers and the procuring of needed supplies and equipment.

Further, the process of creating the COVID-19 vaccinations is extremely complex and errors can cause contamination and unsafe products. This is especially true in the case of the mRNA-based vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer, which utilize a new technology. The non-mRNA-based vaccines also employ advanced technologies that even here in the United States where there is ample oversight, errors can still be made.

For example, this spring a Baltimore plant that manufactures the Johnson &Johnson vaccine had to halt production after an inspection by the FDA. Fifteen million vaccines ended up needing to be destroyed.

Thankfully, none was released to the public, but this illustrates the precise and specialized skills needed to create these vaccines. Additionally, copycat medicines in other countries have already been shown to be less effective. Giving away the intellectual property rights would only exacerbate this problem.

Lastly, if implemented, the waiver would have a chilling effect on research efforts. Continuous research efforts are what enabled the biopharmaceutical companies to quickly create and produce the COVID vaccine. We want our biopharmaceutical companies working at their utmost capacity so when threats such as COVID and its variants occur, they are able to react. What would the incentive be for these companies to invest billions in new cures and treatments, if they are not allowed to recoup or profit from these developments?

The biopharmaceutical industry has worked tirelessly throughout the epidemic to provide vaccines and treatments — and give people hope of returning to their lives without fear. Competitors have collaborated. Vaccinations have been donated across the world. Licensing rights have been negotiated between the biopharmaceutical companies and reputable manufacturers across the world — including India, one of the two countries that initially proposed the waiver.

These companies should be lauded for their foresight, investment and the decades of research they contributed — not have the rug pulled out from under them.

John Laub is president of Nevada Biotechnology &Health Science Consortium.