MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2021) Spain on Thursday supported the proposal to suspend intellectual property rights for coronavirus vaccines, but expressed concern that the measure might be insufficient and called for an increased global efforts in increasing vaccine production and technology sharing.
"Waiver [of patents] alone is not enough to provide access to developing countries. Approval may take some time, so, meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies must be flexible and speed up the issuance of licenses," the Spanish government said in a statement.
At the same time, according to the Spanish authorities, it is also "necessary to boost knowledge and technology transfer, increase the overall production of vaccines and accelerate their distribution globally."
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to announce the country's vaccine proposal at the EU Social Summit in Porto, scheduled for May 7-8.
Washington stated earlier in the week that it supports waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines and pledged to negotiate the issue within the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework. Russia and China also expressed willingness to back the patent waiver.
However, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) called the US decision "disappointing," stating that the waiver, in their opinion, will neither help increase production nor provide practical solutions to a complex issue of vaccine inequity.
