The proposal by some countries to waive World Trade Organization (WTO) TRIPS intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines as a way of speeding vaccine manufacturing in poorer countries will not achieve its desired goal and will do harm to biotech companies, including those in Montana, as they need to be compensated for their innovations Sharon Peterson, Executive Director of the Montana BioScience Alliance says in an opinion piece for the Independent Record.
“Montana has a vibrant and growing biotech sector, and we are noted around the country for our successes in research and product development. We are increasingly attracting investors and innovators who want to live and work here. The WTO proposal will place an unfair burden on the ability of our biotech enterprises to thrive,” Peterson argues.“Before infringing on the intellectual property rights of U.S. companies by implementing an ill-advised TRIPs waiver, let’s consider whether successful health outcomes aren’t better achieved by first addressing other challenges, such as the supply and distribution chains that move vaccines from the lab to the clinic.”
