US pharma body upset
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Washington A US pharmaceutical trade body has expressed disappointment over the decision of the Biden administration to support India and South Africa's proposal before the WTO to temporarily waive anti-Covid vaccine patents to boost its supply.
PhRMA which represents America's leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies has said that the "decision will sow confusion between public and private partners, further weaken already strained supply chains and foster the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines."
PhRMA companies are devoted to discovering and developing medicines that enable patients to live longer, healthier and more productive lives. Since 2000, PhRMA member companies have invested nearly $1 trillion in the search for new treatments and cures, including an estimated $83 billion in 2019 alone.
PhRMA president and CEO Stephen J Ubl said this change in longstanding American policy will not save lives. "It also flies in the face of President (Joe) Biden's stated policy of building up American infrastructure and creating jobs by handing over American innovations to countries looking to undermine our leadership in biomedical discovery," he said.
