{"id":518864,"date":"2022-02-18T15:44:37","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T15:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=5754b57926220b11ae937ccb3c2605b9"},"modified":"2022-02-18T15:44:37","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T15:44:37","slug":"eu-chief-calls-patents-precious-as-hundreds-of-millions-lack-vaccine-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/02\/18\/eu-chief-calls-patents-precious-as-hundreds-of-millions-lack-vaccine-access\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Chief Calls Patents \u201cPrecious\u201d as Hundreds of Millions Lack Vaccine Access"},"content":{"rendered":"\"European<\/a>

The head of the European Commission on Friday defended coronavirus-related intellectual property protections as “precious” after South Africa’s president reiterated his support for a temporary patent waiver, arguing the step is necessary to ramp up vaccine production on the African continent.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the E.U.-African Union summit in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argued that instead of suspending vaccine-related intellectual property protections, world leaders should focus on technology transfer and compulsory licensing \u2014 a more narrow approach that public health experts and campaigners have long rejected<\/a> as inadequate.<\/p>\n

“Here I think we can find a bridge,” said von der Leyen, whose communications<\/a> with and ties to the pharmaceutical industry have come under growing scrutiny in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Von der Leyen’s comments came minutes after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insisted that efforts to develop mRNA-based coronavirus vaccines on the African continent have “been hampered by intellectual property barriers” established under the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To date, Africa has been forced to import 99% of its coronavirus vaccines. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of Africa’s population has yet to receive a single coronavirus vaccine dose.<\/p>\n

“This for us is a serious matter,” said Ramaphosa, who warned that IP protections could undermine the work of a WHO-backed technology transfer hub in South Africa, which has created<\/a> an mRNA vaccine using Moderna’s coronavirus shot as a model.<\/p>\n