India, South Africa, and other developing countries are leading the push for a waiver of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) under the rationale that it’s the only way to ensure equitable and affordable access to COVID vaccines.
In this podcast episode, Andrei Iancu, former undersecretary of Commerce for intellectual property (IP) and director of the USPTO, discusses the Biden Administration’s decision to support the proposed waiver and why waiving certain IP protections for COVID-19 related drugs and products will not deliver the needed equitable and affordable access to COVID vaccines that other countries are hoping for.