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Berlin (dpa) - The federal government is skeptical about the release of vaccine patents.
"The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and must remain so in the future," said a government spokeswoman for the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
The limiting factor in the manufacture of vaccines is the production capacity and the high quality standards, not the patents themselves.
The federal government is working in many ways on "how we can improve production capacities within Germany and within the European Union, but also worldwide, and so are the companies concerned," said the spokeswoman.
The US government had proposed that pharmaceutical companies should temporarily lose patent protection for their corona vaccines.
Manufacturers around the world could then produce the vaccines without paying royalties to the companies that developed the agents.
The pharmaceutical companies reject the proposal.
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Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) also criticized the advance from Washington.
"Only releasing a patent does not mean a single additional vaccination box," he told the "Spiegel".
“The patent alone is not enough.
You also have to know how to produce. "
The Greens, on the other hand, welcomed the move.
"Joe Biden has made the start, now the Federal Government and the EU Commission must stand behind the emerging and developing countries at the next meeting of the World Trade Organization and suspend the patents for diagnostics, drugs and other Covid-19 technology," said the Deputy Greens federal chairwoman, Jamila Schäfer, the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Friday).
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) initially remained vague.
"Providing the whole world with vaccine is the only sustainable way out of this pandemic," he said.
Above all, the further expansion of production facilities and more exports from countries in which production takes place are decisive.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, on the other hand, was more open to weakening patent protection.
"If that is a way that can help more people to be supplied with vaccines faster, then that is a question that we have to ask ourselves," said the SPD politician.
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Clear criticism came from the virologist Alexander Kekulé: "If you release the patent, even more manufacturers will fight over it," he said on the MDR podcast.
Instead, he called for better coordination of vaccine production.
For example, an organization under the umbrella of the United Nations is conceivable.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210507-99-501093 / 2