Good Day BIO: The world’s biotech sector unites to oppose IP waiver

In an extraordinary sign of unity, nearly 300 global biotechnology companies and associations have come together in opposition to waiving IP protections for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments—explaining why the move would harm not only this pandemic response, but also the next one.

ICYMI: Several countries are calling for a waiver of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which would weaken IP protections and allow forced transfer of COVID vaccine technology.

Unequivocally, we need to help poorer countries access COVID vaccines, ASAP—but this waiver would be ineffective and counterproductive, harming patients and future cures. 

IP “is responsible for creating the global biotech network that responded so quickly to the COVID crisis,”says the Declaration, signed by nearly 300 global biotech companies and associations.

The signatories include large multinational corporations and small and pre-clinical biotech companies as well as biotech trade associations from 20 countries and 29 U.S. states and territories. The Declaration was led by BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, along with BIO’s state affiliates and the International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA). 

“It is what gives investors the confidence to fund companies with long time horizons and high risks. It gave companies the assurance that they could quickly pivot during the early days of the pandemic into COVID projects. And it helped ensure the type of global cooperation and partnerships that are driving companies, countries, and manufacturers to quickly scale up the production.” 

And while IP isn’t the problem, the waiver would actually create problems—such as fostering “vaccine nationalism,” exacerbating shortages in an already strained global supply chain, and diverting limited resources from companies that need to focus on maintaining quality and patient safety, to name a few. 

Read: Why we can and we must share vaccines with the globe

Dr. Michelle’s Diagnosis: Our scientists and researchers work around the clock developing new medicines, new ways to erase greenhouse gas and new ways to create sustainable and healthy food options and we need to protect their inventions. Many of the companies who signed this letter have no assets other than their intellectual property so this declaration is an important signal we won’t just allow our hard earned science to be poached. – BIO President & CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath

Joe’s World: The discussions in Geneva will impact not only those working on the production of vaccines right now, but also those finding the next innovations for untreated diseases and pandemics that haven’t come yet. If we set the precedent of giving away IP now, we may never get these lifesaving vaccines and treatments later. – Joe Damond, BIO’s Deputy Chief of Policy and EVP of International Affairs

Read the whole thing.

More Health Care News:

The New York Times: Heart problems after vaccination are very rare, federal researchers say
“More than 1,200 cases have been reported, mostly mild and more often in young men and boys. The benefits of vaccination still far outweigh the risks, experts said.”

From COVID-19 and its disproportionate impact on communities of color, to the global awakening of the need for racial justice, the events of the past year have highlighted that we all have more work to do to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion—including in biotech.

BIO’s first-ever Clinical Trial Diversity Summit, starting today, will bring together industry, clinical researchers, academia, community leaders, patient advocates, and health equity experts to create a comprehensive vision for equitable drug development. 

“More diverse clinical trials not only improve outcomes, but they also benefit the entire health care industry,” said Dr. Ted Love, President and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) and Chair of the Emerging Companies Section of BIO’s Board, who will lead a session on the social and business imperative of clinical trial diversity. 

BIO’s Clinical Trial Diversity Summit will take place virtually from June 24-25, 2021—and it’s free, but you must register.

The drought and heat in the American West are frightening—so let’s just plant more trees, right? Not so fast, says BIO’s Cornelia Poku. She explores why climate solutions must be rooted in biotech—not just trees. 

“Trees are an effective way to trap carbon from the atmosphere,” but there are a few “fatal flaws,”she writes—such as the fact that trees are vulnerable to heat, drought, and pests, as well as forest fires that release carbon back into the atmosphere.

Biotech can help trees deal with the challenges. For example, the American chestnut was nearly extinct due to disease, but it’s making a comeback thanks to gene editing.

If the government approves the planting of gene-edited American chestnuts, we can plant trees that will thrive in the face of climate change and increase overall biodiversity. 

And while trees draw carbon out of the atmosphere, we need to make their jobs a bit easier—and reduce carbon there in the first place. This is why we need other biotechnologies, from helping crops to grow deeper roots that capture more carbon and protect the soil to deploying low-carbon transportation fuels made from plants and waste. 

Read: To solve climate change, look to the biosciences

So, go ahead, plant trees! But before they grow roots, think about whether it can survive—and what else we can do to reduce carbon and thwart climate change in the meantime. 

For more ways, the biotech industry is addressing climate change, read the 2021 Biotech Solutions for Climate Report. 

President Biden’s Thursday: Heading to Raleigh, NC, to visit a mobile vaccination unit and meet with volunteers. He’ll give remarks at 5:15 PM ET. ICYMI, POLITICO has details on his plan to tackle gun violence.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing, Empowered by Data: Legislation to Advance Equity and Public Health (10:30 AM ET), while Senate Finance will consider key nominees at USTR and Health and Human Services, including health policy expert Melanie Egorin for assistant secretary for legislation at HHS. Meanwhile, “a small but growing number of Republicans” want to address climate change, reports The New York Times.