he rollout of effective COVID-19 vaccines is happening at a historically unprecedented pace. Manufacturing and delivering vaccines to some 7.8 billion people worldwide, however, has reignited tensions about the role of intellectual property in medicine.
This panel will explore the legal and policy debate regarding patents on vaccines. Speakers will address IP waivers, compulsory licensing proposals, and the evolving role of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. How risky is vaccine development? What is protected by vaccine patents? What role do US and EU patents play for international vaccine manufacturing and distribution?
