(AGENPARL) – mar 06 dicembre 2022 06 December 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Pathetic” for the US to kick WTO Covid test and treatment deal into the long grass, campaigners say
Responding to [reports](http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=yhUIku4Vp-ElgYecqc6wLZWFB4eMcQCiOzAGqFQXLrqImU7v5vnWq9NTOIaZALgXNmuLWub_er4c2t0Z_jDAsmY-Bpgkzd_7Ek5Xyn32HCxnHQ04I7wbs9T0dassK0Zy28lYoPJJ80WaAxSto0jNgr0CJOB1UxhVT43BWUclTyfkl_YZBt0X59C37go2dfJR21t-LI9OBeEtwPAz1n_w37Prv_2IpJMEShOBIdFVG0Ju9IoX_K53Bo61J6OFoKOQFw2)that the US government won’t support a World Trade Organization (WTO) deal on intellectual property rules for COVID-19 treatments and tests this year, Dr. Mohga Kamal-Yanni, policy co-lead for the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said:
“It is heartbreaking to see the Biden administration succumb to pressure from pharmaceutical company lobbyists and their henchmen in Congress. This moment of weakness will cost countless lives in low and middle-income countries, leading to continued economic devastation, while a handful of pharmaceutical CEOs and shareholders will get even richer.
“The US has had more than two years to meaningfully engage in WTO negotiations over access to lifesaving tests and treatments. Kicking the issue further into the long grass, just as the negotiating deadline approaches, is pathetic.”
/Ends
Notes
The WTO reached a deal on vaccine intellectual property in June, pledging to agree whether to extend the decision to cover tests and treatments within six months. The deadline is 17 December.
This is a reaction to news first reported by Bryce Baschuk in Bloomberg that the Biden administration plans to ask the US International Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the matter. Such investigations can take nine months to a year to complete: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-05/us-won-t-back-2022-patent-waivers-for-covid-tests-and-treatments](http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=yhUIku4Vp-ElgYecqc6wLZWFB4eMcQCiOzAGqFQXLrqImU7v5vnWq9NTOIaZALgXNmuLWub_er4c2t0Z_jDAsmY-Bpgkzd_7Ek5Xyn32HCxnHQ04I7wbs9T0dassK0Zy28lYoPJJ80WaAxSto0jNgr0CJOB1UxhVT43BWUclTye5aKOSBOzzM8ab0cdKyRWiMBF9QbzBdpgtS90TprkPEM74CzSnJnWSIWdH8Nv4g5HwrcDFUbzMkGqGcRPhDp_TuA2)
Just one in every fifty COVID-19 tests is administered in a low or middle-income country, despite these countries accounting for 84% of the world’s population: [https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/act-accelerator-facilitation-council-working-group-report-on-diagnostics-and-therapeutics](http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=8jcSmeZcRxAQWUMcJHShhtDS2cAmlmNhw2l9OZlSP4MQRP7ZjZvIYAgxKm6LUMMm40W96nEjE4IJHOhV510SJHPtT2DHAvyIF2vyN9IC7qa7Y4r3vNhnCW6WIDqs1FzLph9630uTEk-R2Ux_nAXwbO9Fm-TkBAbtw56uRe4Z2mlPcP_PA7OXrVXukt44S4tPMwNWwu4Yc27ektd83q91tps6VCbqofhkVVEN2f8kDN0gt6M8iROup4IcvRRKT91yqVv3SMrmj-XKb2tausvJnVc1)
There is very little publicly available data on access to COVID-19 treatments. However, orders of Paxlovid, the Pfizer-produced treatment with the highest recommendation from the WHO, indicate that three quarters of all orders will go to rich countries: [https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/just-quarter-pfizers-covid-19-treatment-orders-will-go-developing-countries](http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=yhUIku4Vp-ElgYecqc6wLQ3AfyjMsOvUJBbOitxmQ3WuDO0TvDM3rxasLdpiYB8f6f9hW15sFEo2gUsiVFcVzu5s_s9vUO0wTCyJtI8S6I18FSWThgrFvn4zoQ4LjKHKFP1hqZN2s1epGyoPI1GaGpv6zEGryq_K2-fVXWpuWNDUmSx8BClEPFmr3dCvR6T0qnALG-gHugHtHc5VmqtRo66x-6KIFO0dMwzVJCMSNcXtWcsk6LKLHra_230X_5oY_A2)
Many low and middle-income countries, particularly in Latin America, are excluded from licensing agreements for generic versions of COVID-19 treatments. This means they could pay $250 for a course of treatment instead of $25/course for a generic equivalent – ten times as much: [https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/just-quarter-pfizers-covid-19-treatment-orders-will-go-developing-countries](http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=yhUIku4Vp-ElgYecqc6wLQ3AfyjMsOvUJBbOitxmQ3WuDO0TvDM3rxasLdpiYB8f6f9hW15sFEo2gUsiVFcVzu5s_s9vUO0wTCyJtI8S6I18FSWThgrFvn4zoQ4LjKHKFP1hqZN2s1epGyoPI1GaGpv6zEGryq_K2-fVXWpuWNBZRfr0X9tZt3do2WaVaOjV8_3FFb0M3Ui7IkR4iW43vATlBsK9PeQx1P4MOZG17un1PSygbIBLv1PdRPQ1u-ZU-A2)
The pharmaceutical company lobbying operation against an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments, was revealed in an investigation by Politico and the Bureau for Investigative Journalism: [https://www.politico.eu/article/covid-vaccine-poor-countries-waiver-killed/](http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=Gz2tbWuDTj78DgqpfeWDejqs5EadnA3rL3OiyA4rm09TZ-GaGZpkzp7WwVjbRkwE2zorGXzIuyWPPmTmioa7dB5f5E9MHM-My9f7lCQlJ1ugNsDTEhcgH29C7nuvknGT5TEpb4MIlAsFeP-4mehCeafa34lzs5rncrcEUN6QBw-arz0AJlpg0HuEqJmjmwzIO3pAOHxPGfRtypuwx_gYKus1)
Media contact
Joe Karp-Sawey, senior media advisor, People’s Vaccine Alliance
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