Context: Covid vaccine-related innovation will have a limited impact if its products don’t reach the bulk of the world’s population. Waiving patents is necessary and urgent for the greater global good.
Case Study: In 2000-2001, in a face-off with pharma giants, under whose patent grip 12 million HIV patients had lost lives in Africa, the Indian pharma corporation, Cipla, successfully got a patent waiver to allow supplies of anti-HIV AIDS drugs to Africa at under one dollar a day.
Challenges in patent waivers:
Argument in favour of patent waivers:
Conclusion: