Hyderabad-based vaccine maker says not including ICMR in original patent application for Covaxin was ‘inadvertent error’ & ‘confidential agreement between them was not accessible’.
G7 diplomats are now echoing the Supreme Court of India — why hasn't the Modi govt granted compulsory licences to pharma companies to at least manufacture anti-Covid drugs if not vaccines.
Vaccine manufacturers China and Russia never came forward to share the formula with or waive IPR for other BRICS members. So much for the cooperation in the Covid fight.
It is time countries acted with a humanitarian approach at WTO and relaxed IPR provisions for Covid-19 vaccines. And it can be done without disincentivising R&D efforts.
Instead of trying to obtain an IP waiver, the govt must enable vaccine manufacturers to expand production & reduce inefficiencies in procurement & distribution.
India and South Africa have proposed a broad waiver from the Trips agreement’s rules on the production and export of vaccines needed to combat the Covid-19 virus.
US, EU, Canada and other developed nations, with access to Covid-19 vaccines, must stop opposing India and South Africa's proposal to waive patent and intellectual property rights.
The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and partly because they see no way out of the system, wrote author MH Mody in 1980.
IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.
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