When patents become barriers to accessing medicines

One of the great tragedies in the COVID-19 pandemic is the widespread inequity in the accessibility of Covid-19 vaccines. While more than 60 per cent of adults in high-income countries have received their vaccinations, only 2 per cent of adults in low-income countries have received theirs to date. Governments of low- and middle-income countries and civil society organisations argued that a few pharmaceutical companies' holding of patents and intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines had limited these vaccines' global supply, leading to scarcity, and hoarding of vaccines.

The argument over Covid-19 vaccine patents is the latest front in a decades-old debate between governments, pharmaceutical companies, and civil society. The idea that pharmaceutical patents and intellectual property rights are barriers preventing people from accessing life-saving medicines is not new.

Supporters of patents for pharmaceuticals argue that patents are needed to incentivise innovation and reward the risk taken by pharmaceutical companies. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) protects Patents and intellectual property rights.

During the third Lunchtime Talk Series powered by PechaKucha on 29 September 2021, Dr Mark Cheong Wing Loong from the School of Pharmacy briefly examines these arguments and presents them to the audience. Based on historical and contemporary examples. He explained how patents and abusive patent practices dampen innovation, allow for exorbitant prices, and prevent the public from receiving the treatments they need to live healthy lives. Therefore, the need for patents should not be a foregone conclusion.