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USTR wants to extend the deadline to decide on the expansion of the COVID IP waiver—a good sign, we hope. Plus, the COP15 biodiversity conference begins, and two important health awareness weeks come to an end. (862 words, 4 minutes, 18 seconds) |
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USTR punts decision on expanding IP waiver |
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative yesterday announced support for extending the deadline to decide whether the WTO’s IP waiver should be expanded to COVID treatments and diagnostics—a sign USTR’s position could be shifting.
Catch up: The WTO waived patent protections for COVID vaccines in June. Now, they’re considering expanding the waiver to therapeutics and diagnostics—both unnecessary and a threat to innovation.
What USTR said: “Real questions remain on a range of issues, and the additional time, coupled with information from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), will help the world make a more informed decision on whether extending the Ministerial Decision to COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics would result in increased access to those products,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “Transparency is critical and USTR will continue to consult with Congress, stakeholders, and others as we continue working to end the pandemic and support the global economic recovery.”
Overheard in Washington: “Hopefully, this delay means someone in USTR woke up.”
Many raised concerns about the proposed expansion—including bipartisan members of the House and Senate, BIO, and every member of the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA).
Why it matters: “Intellectual Property is the currency by which the innovative biotech industry raises capital and is able to advance the next generation of innovative medicines,” BIO’s Chief Policy Officer John Murphy told us.
“We look forward to seeing the results of the proposed investigation,” continued Murphy, “which we believe will show what we have been saying all along: IP is not the barrier to further access; it is far more important to focus on enhancing the critical infrastructure many countries lack to ensure the current and ample supply of COVID therapies are able to actually be administered to patients who need them.”
Read: President Biden, don’t let the WTO stop medical advances
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What to know about the COP15 biodiversity summit |
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The U.N. Biodiversity Conference (COP15) kicks off in Montreal today—here’s what biotech should know.
What’s happening: Parties to the 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity will negotiate a new framework for implementation. The U.S. has not ratified the U.N. treaty, which has 195 signatories, but the U.S. delegation to Montreal is overseen by special biodiversity envoy Monica Medina.
The goals: to use components of biodiversity sustainably, and to regulate sharing of benefits from utilizing genetic resources. A key proposal calls for protecting 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030; President Biden has pledged the U.S. will achieve it.
Why it matters to the planet: Earth “is experiencing its largest loss of life since the dinosaurs. One million plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction,” says the U.N. Environment Programme. Protecting biodiversity is essential for health and food security.
Why it matters to biotech: The agreement envisions global regulation of “synthetic biology,” described as a “new dimension of modern biotechnology” involving “understanding, design, redesign, manufacture and/or modification of genetic materials, living organisms and biological systems.”
Biotech-centered proposals on the COP15 agenda include...agreements covering property rights for data derived from genetic resources and “benefits from natural genetic material.”
Biotech contributes to biodiversity—with gene editing to develop crops resistant to pests and disease, that grow with fewer inputs and last longer; animal feed that reduces emissions; and farming methods that improve soil health and capture carbon, to name just a few.
Read more about how biotech can improve biodiversity. |
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Building awareness of Crohn’s and colitis, infantile spasms |
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Biotech is driving innovation—with new treatments that can improve the severity of symptoms. Biologic therapies “offer a distinct advantage in IBD treatment because their mechanisms of action are more precisely targeted to the factors responsible for IBD,” according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
It’s also Infantile Spasm Awareness Week, sounding the alarm about an uncommon but extremely dangerous form of seizure that can have life-long impacts.
But we can “STOP” infantile spasms, says the Infantile Spasms Action Network (ISAN), if we know the signs and what to do—learn more. |
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New podcast alert!
Targeting the Toughest Diseases looks at some of humanity's most challenging diseases and how Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based biotech company (and BIO member), is using innovative tools, methods, and a unique philosophy to search for treatments and cures.
Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, you can find this podcast series where you subscribe to your podcasts and on the Vertex website. |
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