President Xi Jinping attended the Global Health Summit via video link from Beijing on the evening of May 21, 2021, delivering an important speech entitled “Build a Global Community of Health for All.” In continuous support of the joint efforts in combating the pandemic across the world, China will support Chinese vaccine companies to transfer vaccine-related technologies to other developing countries and to carry out cooperative production with them, while encouraging the exemption of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. Alongside this, the US government made a surprising and high-profile decision to support waiving patent protections for COVID-19 vaccine technology. There is no denying that vaccines are currently a major topic of debate. So, how can we help developing countries fight against the pandemic? The transfer of our vaccine-related technology is apparently the key. Yi Ling, a professor and master supervisor at the Law School of Central South University, has carried out in-depth research into the intellectual property rights of vaccines in various countries.

 

Yi Ling: In an attempt to encourage and protect technological innovation, the Patent Law is formulated with the purpose of protecting the legitimate interests of patentees, encouraging invention and creation activities, promoting the application of inventions and creations, improving innovation capabilities, and enabling scientific and technological progress alongside economic and social development. The pharmaceutical industry is unique because the process from the development of new drugs to their sale on the market is onerous: first, it is a very long cycle; second, there are significant research and development costs; and finally, it requires major initial investment. Consequently, the patent system is of extreme importance for the protection of pharmaceutical manufacturing. The research and development of pharmaceuticals is essential to all countries because pharmaceuticals matter to human life, human health, and public safety. Therefore, patent rights protection is essential for the pharmaceutical industry and pharmaceutical companies.

 

Yi Ling: During the process of vaccine research and development, China has played an indispensable role by proactively promoting international cooperation and continuously contributing to international vaccine research and development. China isolated and identified the virus strain soon after the pandemic broke out, immediately reporting it to the World Health Organization (WHO) and sharing it with the rest of the world by releasing the information on the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) platform. Five technical routes of vaccine research were conducted and advanced simultaneously in China, all of which were made public. More importantly, the Chinese government has provided, or is providing, free vaccine assistance to more than 60 countries in need of vaccines and has exported vaccines to 43 countries. Additionally, the Chinese government has announced its intention to provide 10 million doses of vaccine to the WHO’s COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) to meet the urgent needs of developing countries. The Chinese government encourages and supports vaccine companies to export vaccines to countries willing to purchase Chinese vaccines. Currently, more than 40 countries have imported, or are involved in negotiations regarding the import of Chinese vaccines, with the majority being developing countries. In spite of the limited production capacity to satisfy the enormous domestic demand for vaccines, the Chinese government has still fulfilled its promise by providing assistance to more than 80 developing countries in urgent need and exporting vaccines to 43 countries. When President Biden took office, he began by making use of the Defense Production Act to help American vaccine manufacturers obtain the necessary raw materials and improve their vaccine production capacities. Statistics show that with a population of 330 million people, the United States has purchased about 2.6 billion doses of vaccine so far. Apparently, the vaccine supply in the United States can fully meet its domestic demands. With such a large amount of vaccine, the United States is by no means beyond suspicion of hoarding vaccines. Although the United States has proposed patent exemption, it still exerts extremely tight control over the export of raw materials for vaccines. As a result, some other countries are still unable to produce their own vaccines due to a lack of raw materials, even if they own the patented technology.

 

Yi Ling: Under pressure from public opinion, the Biden administration issued a statement in support of waiving COVID-19 intellectual property rights, but this exemption is confined to the vaccine itself, with diagnostic equipment and medicines excluded. In fact, the statement of patent exemption proposed by the Biden administration is not strictly effective in law because it may face challenges from the obligees and subsequent judicial reviews, even if it is upgraded into an executive order. In addition, the content, scope, and duration of the patent exemption proposed by the United States are all unclear. First, the types of exempted vaccines are undefined. Take the Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines in the United States as an example. It is not clear whether the core vaccine technology of this type, or the related raw materials, are open because they have never been discussed. In terms of exemption duration, it has not been expressly stipulated how long this will last and when it will be terminated. Therefore, it can be said that the statement from the United States is no more than a dead letter. Furthermore, it is impossible to produce vaccines with a single patented technology. As we know, the production of a vaccine is a complicated process, and could even be viewed as an industrial chain, requiring the supply of raw materials, the necessary equipment, and the required technology. In patent exemption, the Chinese government has already expressed its support for the exemption of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, as well as its support for the World Trade Organization and other international institutions to make an early decision on this issue. In addition, the Chinese government also supports Chinese vaccine companies in transferring their technologies to, and carrying out cooperative production with, developing countries. China is promoting cooperative research and development in drug vaccines and joint prevention and control across the world in an active manner, so as to strengthen global public health governance and promote the building of a global community of health for all. Through pragmatic actions, China is fulfilling its commitment to build a community with a shared future for mankind and has made significant contributions to the whole world.