MSF response to WTO TRIPS Council moving toward text-based negotiations on the ‘TRIPS waiver’ proposal
In a major breakthrough today at the TRIPS Council meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), members agreed to engage in a text-based process on the monopoly waiver proposal – the ‘TRIPS waiver’ – first proposed by South Africa and India in October 2020 and now sponsored by 63 WTO members. The next General Council meeting is scheduled for July 21-21, 2021.
Leena Menghaney, Global IP Advisor for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s Access Campaign:
“This is a major breakthrough – after eight months of stalling, MSF welcomes the start of the negotiations and governments must do everything in their power to make sure that the ‘TRIPS waiver’ is not restricted to vaccines and has the best chance to save as many lives as possible throughout this pandemic. In addition to vaccines, the world urgently needs access to newer therapeutics and other health technologies to reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths in this pandemic.”
