Intellectual Property Waiver of COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments – An Effective Remedy?
Date
27 September 2021
Time
13:00 to 14:30
Location
Online
Attendance
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Recent months have seen intensified global calls for an intellectual property waiver of COVID-19 related vaccines, treatments and related products.
The proposal for a TRIPS waiver, made initially by India and South Africa last October, received additional impetus in May when U.S announced its initial support of the waiver and the text-based negotiations at WTO TRIPS Council. In light of these developments, this webinar will adress the ongoing debates whether a waiver is the most effective and sustainable remedy in order to facilitate affordable access and promote production capacity, or if there is reason to consider other options.
This webinar is moderated by Professor Timo Minssen (Director, CeBIL). It brings together different perspectives on the matter, featuring Professor Duncan Matthews (Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, Queen Mary University, UK) and Mr. Prashant Reddy (Patent Lawyer, India).
The project aims to create a neutral platform that allows for well-informed debates on crucial issues in pharmaceutical innovation. Focus is on creating an inclusive platform to accommodate stakeholders with different opinions and perspectives. The project runs between April 2021 and April 2023. The webinar series is a joint collaboration between The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) and Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen.
Speakers
Timo Minssen is Professor of Law at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and the Founding Director of UCPH’s Center for Advanced Studies in Biomedical Innovation Law (CeBIL). His research, supervision, teaching & part-time advisory practice concentrates on Intellectual Property-, Competition & Regulatory Law with a special focus on new technologies, big data & artificial intelligence in the health & life sciences.
Timo is member of several international committees and regularly advising the WHO, WIPO, EU Commission, various research organizations, national governments and law firms. He presents his research at international symposia, major law firms, the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Hong Kong & Tokyo, Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Stanford Law School, Yale, MIT, the Broad institute, as well as at the WHO, WIPO, European Medicines Agency and National Ehics Councils etc. His publications comprise 4 books, as well as 150+ articles and book chapters.
Duncan Matthews is Professor of Intellectual Property Law in the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London.
He has acted as an advisor to the European Patent Office (EPO), the European Commission, the European Parliament, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). He is the author of over 60 publications on intellectual property law, and is co-editor of the Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and the Life Sciences.
T. Prashant Reddy studied law at the National Law School of India University and Stanford Law School. He has worked in the IP litigation teams of two Delhi-based law firms, as well as in academia in India and Singapore.
He is the co-author of the book Create, Copy, Disrupt: India’s Intellectual Property Dilemmas (OUP) and has also published widely in law journals and the mainstream press. He is currently working on a book on the history of drug regulation in India.