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discussion is on the rise as the US approves of the temporary exemption of the intellectual property rights of the corona vaccine so that other pharmaceutical companies can make cloned vaccines. That could increase the supply of vaccines worldwide, but this is not as simple as it sounds. The issue of compensation for existing vaccine pharmaceutical companies should also be considered, and the unanimous agreement of the WTO members with keen interests is required. Germany today (7th) publicly expressed its opposition to this.



This is Jung Hye-kyung.



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Germany publicly opposes the plan to exempt the corona 19 vaccine intellectual property rights.



A spokesman for the German government said in a statement that "protecting intellectual property is a source of innovation and must be protected in the future."



In Germany, there is Bioentech, which developed the COVID-19 vaccine with Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company.



In order to exempt the corona vaccine from intellectual property rights, consent from all 164 members of the World Trade Organization and WTO is required.



However, it is known that only about 60 countries, including the United States, France, Italy, and Russia, are currently in favor.



[Ursula von der Reien/European Commission Chairman: The European Union is also ready to discuss any proposals related to the Corona 19 crisis in an efficient and pragmatic manner.]



Massive backlash from pharmaceutical companies with vaccine technology should also be resolved. This is an assignment.



Even if the WTO decides to exempt intellectual property rights, it could take years to come if pharmaceutical companies go to lawsuits.



It is also argued that even if the IPR is finally suspended, the vaccine supply will not increase significantly because most countries do not have the facilities and personnel with the technical capabilities to manufacture advanced vaccines.



[Co-founder of Osrem Tourech/Bioentech: Our manufacturing process accurately executes more than 50,000 steps to ensure efficiency and safety.]



Amid complicated calculations in each country, IPR exemption is a simple discussion. There is also a prospect that it may be limited to the level.



(Video editing: Kim Ho-jin)