SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Larissa Vuitika, biologist, works during the virus inactivation process on March 24, 2020 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. (Photo: Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
International Coalition of Public Health Advocates Denounces Any Big Pharma Effort to Profiteer Off Covid-19 Treatments, Vaccines
"Health is a human right. Medical knowledge is a public good. No one should be left behind."
Apr 24, 2020
More than 250 public interest groups on Thursday urged global cooperation as scientists around the world work to develop treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus, warning against "nationalistic" or monopoly-based responses to the pandemic which has spread to at least 177 countries and killed more than 186,000 people worldwide.
Public Citizen was joined by 254 groups including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and Indivisible in calling on world governments to abide by several key principles as they search for medical breakthroughs to treat people diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, and for a vaccine.
"There is real danger that access to medical breakthroughs addressing COVID-19 will be restricted by nation, by price, by limited production and fragmented supply lines, and by exclusivity and commercial confidentiality. We must prevent this--and help change medical innovation, health, and nationalism." --254 public interest groups
"Open science, ramped-up manufacturing, fair pricing, and sharing of technology" must guide all efforts to develop effective treatments, the groups wrote--rather than secrecy and competition between countries.
"There is a grave danger that research efforts will be stymied and access for many patients to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines will be delayed by limited manufacturing capacity, commercial secrecy, and monopolies on key medical technologies, as well as by hostility to global cooperation," said Public Citizen in a statement.
Last month, the New York Times reported that efforts to combat the virus have become a "global arms race," with "China, Europe, and the United States...[setting] off at a sprint to become the first to produce a vaccine" and President Donald Trump reportedly telling American pharmaceutical executives that a vaccine must be produced on U.S. soil to control the supply chain.
"There is real danger that access to medical breakthroughs addressing COVID-19 will be restricted by nation, by price, by limited production and fragmented supply lines, and by exclusivity and commercial confidentiality. We must prevent this--and help change medical innovation, health, and nationalism," reads the open letter.
The groups urged pharmaceutical companies and governments to commit to following four basic principles:
- Innovation for all, with technology owners committing patents, trade secrets, know-how, cell lines, copyright, software, data, and all other relevant intellectual property to the public domain
- Access for all, ensuring diagnostics, treatments, devices, vaccines, and personal protective equipment are priced fairly and affordably to healthcare payers and are free to the public at the point of care in all countries.
- Solidarity and global cooperation, including coordination with the World Health Organization to organize platforms for the public sharing of data and intellectual property to rapidly scale-up production and mitigate shortages.
- Good governance and transparency, with funders and technology developers ensuring that costs related to research, manufacturing, and pricing are published transparently.
The letter comes a month after a pressure campaign led by Public Citizen forced the drug manufacturer Gilead Sciences to withdraw a monopoly claim for remdesivir, a drug which is being tested as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
The drug's status as an "orphan drug," usually reserved for medications that treat very rare diseases, would have limited access for many patients.
"Health is a human right. Medical knowledge is a public good," wrote the groups on Thursday. "No one should be left behind."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
More than 250 public interest groups on Thursday urged global cooperation as scientists around the world work to develop treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus, warning against "nationalistic" or monopoly-based responses to the pandemic which has spread to at least 177 countries and killed more than 186,000 people worldwide.
Public Citizen was joined by 254 groups including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and Indivisible in calling on world governments to abide by several key principles as they search for medical breakthroughs to treat people diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, and for a vaccine.
"There is real danger that access to medical breakthroughs addressing COVID-19 will be restricted by nation, by price, by limited production and fragmented supply lines, and by exclusivity and commercial confidentiality. We must prevent this--and help change medical innovation, health, and nationalism." --254 public interest groups
"Open science, ramped-up manufacturing, fair pricing, and sharing of technology" must guide all efforts to develop effective treatments, the groups wrote--rather than secrecy and competition between countries.
"There is a grave danger that research efforts will be stymied and access for many patients to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines will be delayed by limited manufacturing capacity, commercial secrecy, and monopolies on key medical technologies, as well as by hostility to global cooperation," said Public Citizen in a statement.
Last month, the New York Times reported that efforts to combat the virus have become a "global arms race," with "China, Europe, and the United States...[setting] off at a sprint to become the first to produce a vaccine" and President Donald Trump reportedly telling American pharmaceutical executives that a vaccine must be produced on U.S. soil to control the supply chain.
"There is real danger that access to medical breakthroughs addressing COVID-19 will be restricted by nation, by price, by limited production and fragmented supply lines, and by exclusivity and commercial confidentiality. We must prevent this--and help change medical innovation, health, and nationalism," reads the open letter.
The groups urged pharmaceutical companies and governments to commit to following four basic principles:
- Innovation for all, with technology owners committing patents, trade secrets, know-how, cell lines, copyright, software, data, and all other relevant intellectual property to the public domain
- Access for all, ensuring diagnostics, treatments, devices, vaccines, and personal protective equipment are priced fairly and affordably to healthcare payers and are free to the public at the point of care in all countries.
- Solidarity and global cooperation, including coordination with the World Health Organization to organize platforms for the public sharing of data and intellectual property to rapidly scale-up production and mitigate shortages.
- Good governance and transparency, with funders and technology developers ensuring that costs related to research, manufacturing, and pricing are published transparently.
The letter comes a month after a pressure campaign led by Public Citizen forced the drug manufacturer Gilead Sciences to withdraw a monopoly claim for remdesivir, a drug which is being tested as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
The drug's status as an "orphan drug," usually reserved for medications that treat very rare diseases, would have limited access for many patients.
"Health is a human right. Medical knowledge is a public good," wrote the groups on Thursday. "No one should be left behind."
More than 250 public interest groups on Thursday urged global cooperation as scientists around the world work to develop treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus, warning against "nationalistic" or monopoly-based responses to the pandemic which has spread to at least 177 countries and killed more than 186,000 people worldwide.
Public Citizen was joined by 254 groups including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and Indivisible in calling on world governments to abide by several key principles as they search for medical breakthroughs to treat people diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, and for a vaccine.
"There is real danger that access to medical breakthroughs addressing COVID-19 will be restricted by nation, by price, by limited production and fragmented supply lines, and by exclusivity and commercial confidentiality. We must prevent this--and help change medical innovation, health, and nationalism." --254 public interest groups
"Open science, ramped-up manufacturing, fair pricing, and sharing of technology" must guide all efforts to develop effective treatments, the groups wrote--rather than secrecy and competition between countries.
"There is a grave danger that research efforts will be stymied and access for many patients to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines will be delayed by limited manufacturing capacity, commercial secrecy, and monopolies on key medical technologies, as well as by hostility to global cooperation," said Public Citizen in a statement.
Last month, the New York Times reported that efforts to combat the virus have become a "global arms race," with "China, Europe, and the United States...[setting] off at a sprint to become the first to produce a vaccine" and President Donald Trump reportedly telling American pharmaceutical executives that a vaccine must be produced on U.S. soil to control the supply chain.
"There is real danger that access to medical breakthroughs addressing COVID-19 will be restricted by nation, by price, by limited production and fragmented supply lines, and by exclusivity and commercial confidentiality. We must prevent this--and help change medical innovation, health, and nationalism," reads the open letter.
The groups urged pharmaceutical companies and governments to commit to following four basic principles:
- Innovation for all, with technology owners committing patents, trade secrets, know-how, cell lines, copyright, software, data, and all other relevant intellectual property to the public domain
- Access for all, ensuring diagnostics, treatments, devices, vaccines, and personal protective equipment are priced fairly and affordably to healthcare payers and are free to the public at the point of care in all countries.
- Solidarity and global cooperation, including coordination with the World Health Organization to organize platforms for the public sharing of data and intellectual property to rapidly scale-up production and mitigate shortages.
- Good governance and transparency, with funders and technology developers ensuring that costs related to research, manufacturing, and pricing are published transparently.
The letter comes a month after a pressure campaign led by Public Citizen forced the drug manufacturer Gilead Sciences to withdraw a monopoly claim for remdesivir, a drug which is being tested as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
The drug's status as an "orphan drug," usually reserved for medications that treat very rare diseases, would have limited access for many patients.
"Health is a human right. Medical knowledge is a public good," wrote the groups on Thursday. "No one should be left behind."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.