GENEVA: As trade negotiators get down to work on a package, India on Monday called for talks for a TRIPS waiver on COVID therapeutics and equipment after working out a plan. patent exemption for vaccines. India originally proposed exemption of patents and other intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines, drugs and devices, but the U.S. The European UnionUK and Switzerlandamong others, did not agree to the plan and limited discussions so far to vaccines only.
“It is of great interest to us to start a conversation on therapeutics and diagnostics. We cannot have a pandemic response which does not yield an effective and practical result on TRIPS,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at the WTO ministerial meeting. Now alluding to the easy availability of vaccines, the minister said that blocking certain streams could send a wrong message. ,
If it’s only vaccines that we want to provide, I think it’s too late for that, the pandemic has run its initial course, there is currently no short supply of vaccines. And if you are not even able to see the near future and the requirements of that period, then I think it is very clear that instead of worrying for humanity, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost or millions were affected, it is a matter of sadness. The thing is that the super profits of some pharmaceutical companies dominate the global good,” he said. India said reaching this stage of discussions on the response to the pandemic, amid strong opposition from some developed countries, would mean making many sacrifices and concessions, and scrapping the draft resolution would mean that the efforts of the negotiators would go in vain. “I am hopeful that the resilience we have shown will pave the way for its acceptance and it will be replicated in other tracks for the 12th Ministerial Conference to be successful,” Goyal said. He also said that in keeping with the principles of WTO, there should be no attempt to treat developing countries differently.
“It is of great interest to us to start a conversation on therapeutics and diagnostics. We cannot have a pandemic response which does not yield an effective and practical result on TRIPS,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at the WTO ministerial meeting. Now alluding to the easy availability of vaccines, the minister said that blocking certain streams could send a wrong message. ,
If it’s only vaccines that we want to provide, I think it’s too late for that, the pandemic has run its initial course, there is currently no short supply of vaccines. And if you are not even able to see the near future and the requirements of that period, then I think it is very clear that instead of worrying for humanity, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost or millions were affected, it is a matter of sadness. The thing is that the super profits of some pharmaceutical companies dominate the global good,” he said. India said reaching this stage of discussions on the response to the pandemic, amid strong opposition from some developed countries, would mean making many sacrifices and concessions, and scrapping the draft resolution would mean that the efforts of the negotiators would go in vain. “I am hopeful that the resilience we have shown will pave the way for its acceptance and it will be replicated in other tracks for the 12th Ministerial Conference to be successful,” Goyal said. He also said that in keeping with the principles of WTO, there should be no attempt to treat developing countries differently.