A proposal to suspend intellectual property (IP) protection under the Patents Act for Covaxin, the home-made Covid-19 vaccine by Bharat Biotech, is under "serious consideration", Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said Thursday.
Gowda, the minister for chemicals and fertilizers, said a committee had been set up to look at the patent waiver for Covaxin after the United States recently backed a move to suspend IP rights for Covid-19 vaccines and other key medicines.
The waiver will allow other companies to manufacture the vaccine without mandatory licensing from the firm that holds the patent.
"This is under very serious consideration at the Central government level. A committee with representatives from Niti Aayog, Indian Council of Medical Research, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is discussing the proposal," Gowda said.
Gowda said that the discussion to waive protection under Patent Act for Covaxin started after the government realised that the supply of vaccines was not adequate, especially after the inoculation drive opened for people in the 18-44 age group.
Despite the possible waiver of patent rights, it would take a few months to ramp up vaccine production as it cannot be done overnight. "The government is also mulling the use all available facilities to produce vaccines," Gowda said, adding that ensuring the quality of vaccines and securing patent protection waiver were the challenges. "The government cannot set up facilities overnight. Apart from the technology required to manufacture, availability of raw materials is also an issue," he said.
Global tenders
To a question on many states deciding to float global tenders to procure vaccines, Gowda said that only two states - Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra - had put this in motion. "Karnataka has not floated a tender, but has submitted a request to the Centre for the same," he said.
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have "gone a step forward", Gowda said, adding that commenting on the decision taken by the two non-BJP-ruled states would create political confusion. "Therefore, we have to take these decisions lightly and view them in a legal manner. We have no intention to politicize the issue like other parties," he said.