Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter
United Kingdom
14 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PUBLIC INTEREST: BEYOND ACCESS TO MEDICINES AND MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES TOWARDS A MORE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO TRIPS FLEXIBILITIES
510.   We would like to thank South Africa for introducing this agenda item and giving the Council an opportunity to discuss this important issue. 511.   Intellectual property rights provide incentives to create and commercialise new inventions, such as life-changing vaccines. They keep innovators innovating, creators creating and investors investing. 512.   The UK believes that a robust and fair intellectual property system is a key part of the innovation framework that allows economies to grow, while enabling society to benefit from knowledge and ideas. 513.   Multiple factors need to be considered to ensure equitable access for all to COVID-19 vaccines. These include increasing manufacturing and distribution capacity, measures to support or incentivise technology transfer, ensuring global supply chains remain open, and ensuring that effective platforms are utilised to voluntarily share IP and know how. 514.   There are existing mechanisms that facilitate the sharing of IP. For example, expanding the mandate of an existing organisation such as the Medicines Patent Pool to cover COVID-19. 515.   The UK has long supported affordable and equitable access to essential medicines, including in low and middle-income countries. 516.   The world urgently needs access for all to safe, effective, quality, and affordable vaccines, diagnostics, medicines, and other health technologies to enable an effective response to the COVID19 pandemic. 517.   The UK has played a leading role in financing the global effort and working with our international and national partners, to identify end-to-end solutions that ensure affordable access for all, such as such as mechanisms to support the voluntary sharing of IP and know-how, manufacturing at scale and ensuring no-one is left behind, including the poorest and most vulnerable. 518.   We are committed to collaborating with public and private partners in the UK and internationally, including exploring voluntary arrangements and approaches such as non-exclusive voluntary licensing which promote affordable access for all while also providing incentives to create new inventions, to accelerate development and equitable access in all countries to affordable health technologies for responding to COVID-19. 519.   We encourage active dialogue between industry and governments to explore how best to work together to facilitate access to medicines, including TRIPS-compliant licensing models in developing countries.
The Council took note of the statements made.
55.   The Chair said that this item had been put on the agenda at the request of South Africa. A communication concerning had been circulated in document IP/C/W/666. She invited South Africa to introduce the item.
56.   The representative of South Africa took the floor to introduce the item.
57.   The representatives of Nigeria; Indonesia; Chile; Tanzania, on behalf of the African Group; Colombia; China; Malaysia; Zimbabwe; India; Chinese Taipei; Canada; the United Kingdom; the European Union; Ecuador; Australia; Switzerland; the United States of America; Sri Lanka; Japan; and the WHO took the floor.
58.   The Council took note of the statements made.
IP/C/M/95, IP/C/M/95/Add.1