Civil society letter supporting India's and South Africa's proposal for a TRIPS Agreement waiver for COVID-19 treatments

The CCPA is proud to sign the letter below from our colleagues at the Third World Network. Endorsed so far by over 350 civil society organizations worldwide, the letter urges WTO member governments to support a proposal from South Africa and India calling for the suspension of the implementation, application and enforcement of certain WTO TRIPS obligations (regarding patents, copyright, industrial design, and protection of undisclosed information) for the treatment, prevention and containment of COVID-19. This initiative would help facilitate a truly global, public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which the current WTO intellectual property rights regime impedes as explained in the letter and the proposal.

In the trade chapter of our AFB Recovery Plan, the CCPA called on the federal government to make permanent Canada’s provisions for compulsory licensing of medicines, vaccines and other medical supplies included in Ottawa’s pandemic response legislation. We now call on the Canadian government to back this urgent proposal in Geneva. 


Dear Members of the World Trade Organization,

We the undersigned organisations call on all WTO Members to strongly support the adoption of the decision text proposed by India and South Africa in their proposal for “Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID19” (Waiver Proposal).

When COVID-19 was declared to be a pandemic, there was overwhelming consensus that to curb the spread of COVID-19, there was an urgent need for international collaboration to speed up product development, scale up of manufacturing, expand the supply of effective medical technologies and ensure everyone, everywhere is protected. There were even calls including from several Heads of State for COVID-19 medical products to be treated as global public goods.

Seven months into the pandemic, there is no meaningful global policy solution to ensure access. Instead, there is an inequality of access to critical technologies that are needed to address the pandemic. Many countries, especially developing and least developed countries struggling to contain COVID-19 have experienced and are facing acute shortages of medical products, including access to diagnostic testing.¹ Furthermore, wealthy nations representing only 13 percent of the global population have locked up at least half the doses of the world’s five leading potential vaccines.²

In this pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry has mainly pursued “business as usual” approaches, entrenching monopolistic intellectual property (IP) controls over COVID-19 health technologies that restrict scale-up of manufacturing, lock out diversified suppliers, and undermine competition that results in lower prices. A few companies, such as Astra Zeneca, have pledged not for profit prices during the pandemic, and yet by maintaining control over these technologies, can unilaterally declare the end of the pandemic and increase prices to maximise profits, even if it undermines international efforts to save lives.³

The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) launched by WHO (to voluntarily share knowledge, IP and data), has been rejected by the pharmaceutical industry. Instead, companies continue to sign secretive and restrictive licensing agreements. For example, Gilead Sciences’ secret licensing agreements for remdesivir, a medicine that was developed with substantial public funding, are restricted to a few manufacturers of its choosing, thereby preventing low-cost supply to nearly half of the world’s population. Unsurprisingly, there have been global shortages of the medicine, with many developing countries yet to see even a single vial of the treatment exported to them. Given the medicine’s limited effectiveness, we are deeply concerned that such an approach for a safe and effective therapy will exclude even more people from treatment access.

Additionally, emerging intellectual property infringement disputes on COVID-19 technologies threatens to block collaborative research and development and manufacturing of COVID-19 medical products.

These restrictive business strategies have directly translated into exorbitant pricing and profiteering, With entire health systems already overwhelmed by COVID-19 and with governments facing a looming economic crisis, the health budgets of many countries simply cannot sustain highly priced COVID-19 medical products. These realities will also hinder production by any competent manufacturer and impede the full freedom to collaborate, in developing, producing, importing and exporting the needed medical products.

While the TRIPS Agreement contains flexibilities that can promote access, many WTO Members may face challenges in using them promptly and effectively. For instance, compulsory license offers a “product by product”, and “country by country” approach with variations in national laws, whereas the pandemic requires collective global action to tackle IP barriers and facilitate technology transfer. Where the IP barrier is beyond patents, national laws may not provide for sufficient flexibilities. Further, Article 31bis, a mechanism to supply countries with insufficient manufacturing capacity, does not provide an expedited solution and many countries have also opted out of using the mechanism.

Unless concrete steps are taken at the global level to address intellectual property and technology barriers, the abovementioned failures and shortcomings will replay as new medicines, vaccines and other medical products are rolled out. Access will have to be rationed, with devastating effects for public health and global economic recovery.

In a global pandemic where every country is affected, we need a global solution.⁷ Adoption of a Waiver at the WTO level will suspend implementation, application and enforcement of the relevant provisions of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to prevention, containment, and treatment of COVID-19. It enables an expedited, open and automatic global solution to allow uninterrupted collaboration in development, production and supply, and to collectively address the global challenge facing all countries. It’s time for governments to take collective responsibility and put people’s lives before corporate monopolies.

Therefore, we strongly request you to unequivocally support the adoption of the proposed Waiver at the upcoming TRIPS Council meeting.

Global

1. Commons Network

2. Curbing Corruption

3. Friends of the Earth International

4. GRAIN

5. Grail Justice and Trade Agreements Network

6. Health Action International (HAI)

7. Health Alliance International

8. Health Global Access Project

9. Health Poverty Action

10. IndustriALL Global Union

11. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

12. Institute for Economic Research on Innovation

13. Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD)

14. International Code Documentation Centre

15. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

16. International Treatment Preparedness Coalition 17. Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)

18. LDC Watch

19. Médecins du Monde

20. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign 21. Oxfam

22. Pan-African International

23. Peoples Health Movement 

24. People’s Vaccine Alliance

25. Public Services International (PSI)

26. ReAct--Action on Antibiotic Resistance

27. Regions Refocus

28. Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary

29. Southern African Programme on Access to Medicines and Diagnosis (SAPAM) 30. Social Watch

31. Society for international Development

32. Transnational Institute

33. Transparency International Health Initiative

34. Third World Network

35. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM)

36. Womankind Worldwide

Regional

37. Africa Development Interchange Network (ADIN),

38. African Alliance

39. African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST)

40. Africa Trade Network (ATN)

41. Africa Young Positives Network (AY +)

42. Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND 

43. Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

44. Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN+)

45. Associação Brasileira de Economia Industrial e Inovação

46. Association des Femmes de l'Europe Méridionale (AFEM)

47. Building and Wood Workers International Asia Pacific

48. Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la defensa de los Derechos de las Mujeres, Latin America y el Caribe

49. DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era), Global South

50. EEPA, Europe External Programme with Africa

51. EHNE-BIZKAIA, Euskal Herria, Basque Country

52. Eurasian harm reduction association, CEECA

53. European Alliance for Responsible R&D and Affordable Medicines, Europe

54. Focus on the Global South

55. Health Action International Asia Pacific

56. International Treatment Preparedness Coalition Regional Office for Latino America and Caribbean

57. International Treatment Preparedness Coalition- South Asia 

58. International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Middle East and North Africa

59. National Alliance of Women / Asia Pacific Women Watch

60. NGO Forum on ADB

61. Network TB people

62. Pacific Network on Globalisation

63. Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM)

64. REDCA+ El Salvador, Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama

65. Red Latinoamericana por el Acceso a Medicamentos (RedLAM)

66. South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)

67. Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute 

68. The Access IBSA Project, India-Brazil-South Africa

69. The African Women's Network for Community management of Forests

70. Treatment preparedness Coalition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ITPCru) 71. Third World Network- Africa (TWN-Africa)

72. Yolse, Santé Publique et Innovation

National

73. 1:1 diet, Gauteng, South Africa

74. 100 Percent Life, Ukraine

75. Access to Medicines Ireland

76. Access to Medicines Research Group, China 

77. Acción internacional para la Salud AIS, Perú

78. Action Aid Association, India

79. Actions against AIDS (Aktionsbündnis gegen AIDS) Germany

80. Action Governance Forum – AGF, Zambia

81. Active Citizens Movement, South Africa

82. Africaine de Recherche et de Coopération pour l'appui Au Développement Endogène (ARCADE), Senegal 

83. African Centre for Biodiversity, South Africa 

84. AIDES, France

85. AIDS Access Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand

86. Água Doce - Serviços Populares, Brazil

87. Alianza por la Solidaridad, Spain

88. All India Drug Action Network, India

89. Amabele Project Flamingo, South Africa

90. Anti Free Trade Agreements Committee, India

91. APINTLAW (associated program for international law), Indonesia

92. Apoyo Positivo, Madrid, Spain

93. Ari's Cancer Foundation, South Africa

94. Arzte des Welt e.V.I Doctors of the World Germany, Germany

95. Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN+), Thailand

96. Association Chabab El Borj, Morocco

97. Associação Brasileira Interdisciplinar de AIDS (ABIA), Brazil

98. Associação Brasileira de Saúde Bucal Coletiva, Brazil

99. Association de lutte contre la dépendance ALCD, Mauritania

100. Associação Mulher lei e desenvolvimento, Mozambique

101. Asociación por un Acceso Justo al Medicamento, Spain

102. Asociación Nacional de Profesionales en Enfermería, Costa Rica

103. Association de lutte contre la dépendance ALCD, Mauritanie

104. Association for Promotion Sustainable Development, Hawai 

105. Association for Proper Internet Governance, Switzerland 

106. Association for Public Health Teaching, Research and Service, Nigeria

107. Association Nigérienne des Scouts de l'Environnement (ANSEN), Niger

108. Association of Physicians for Humanism, Republic of Korea (South)

109. ATTAC Hungary Association, Hungary 

110. Auditoría Ciudadana de la Deuda en Sanidad (Audita Sanidad), Spain

111. Australian Arts Trust, Australia

112. Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET), Australia

113. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Australia

114. Both ENDS, The Netherlands

115. Brazilian Association of Public Health, Brazil 

116. Bread for all, Switzerland

117. Breast Course 4 Nurses (BCN), South Africa

118. Breast Health Foundation (BHF), South Africa

119. BUKO Pharma-Kampagne, Germany

120. CADIRE CAMEROON ASSOCIATION, Cameroon

121. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada

122. Cancer Alliance, South Africa

123. Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), South Africa

124. Cancer Heroes, South Africa

125. Cancer Patients Aid Association, India

126. CanSir, South Africa

127. CanSurvive Cancer Support (CanSurvive), South Africa

128. Cape Mental Health (CMH), South Africa

129. CAPRISA - Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, South Africa

130. Care for Cancer Foundation, South Africa

131. Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa (CHOC), South Africa

132. CENADEP, République Démocratique du Congo

133. Center for Health, Human Rights and Development, Uganda

134. Center for Law, Innovation and Creativity, Northeastern U. School of Law, United States

135. Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health, United States 

136. Centre for Global Public Health, Institute of Population Health Sciences, Queen Mary University London, United Kingdom

137. Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), The Netherlands

138. Centre de Recherches et d'Appui pour les Alternatives de Développement - Océan Indien, Madagascar

139. Centre national de coopération au développement (CNCD-11.11.11), Belgium 

140. Centro de Internet y Sociedad de la Universidad del Rosario ISUR, Colombia

141. Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Italy

142. Citizens’ Health Initiative (CHI), Malaysia

143. Citizens Trade Campaign, United States

144. Clare Cerfontyne, South Africa

145. Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Agricultores y Ganaderos (COAG), Spain

146. Coalición de Tendencia Clasista (CTC-VZLA), Venezuela

147. Coalition of women living with HIV and AIDS, Malawi

148. COAST Trust, Bangladesh

149. Coletivo AbrAce, Brazil

150. Consumer Association of Penang, Malaysia

151. Consumer Association the Quality of Life, Greece 

152. Co-operative and Policy Alternative Center, South Africa

153. Coordination Forum of NGOs Working among the Palestinian Community, Lebanon

154. Council of Canadians, Conseil des Canadiens, Canada

155. Creative Commons México, México

156. CTA Autonoma (central de trabajadores de la argentina), Argentina

157. Dandora Community Aids Support Association, Kenya

158. Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+), India 

159. Diabetes SA, South Africa

160. Difäm e.V. (German Institute for Medical Mission), Germany

161. Discipline of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 

162. Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality, Fiji

163. Diverse Women for Diversity, India

164. Division of Health Systems and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Stellenbosch University, South Africa 

165. Doctors Without Borders (MSF), South Africa

166. Drug Action Forum-Karnataka, India

167. Ecologistas en Acción, Spain

168. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Egypt

169. Ekumenická akademie (Ecumenical Academy), Czech Republic

170. Epilepsy SA, South Africa 

171. Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia, Mexico

172. Environmental Management Trust, Zimbabwe

173. EQUIT Institute - Gender, Economy and Global Citizenship, Brazil

174. Equity and Justice Working Group, Bangladesh (EquityBD), Bangladesh

175. Eritrean Law Society (ELS), Eritrea 

176. Espace associatif, Morocco 

177. Faculty of Public Health, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

178. Farmacéuticos Mundi, Spain

179. Federación de Asociaciones para la Defensa de la Sanidad Pública, España

180. Federación Española de Asociaciones de Estudiantes de Medicina para la Cooperación international (IFMSA-Spain), Spain

181. FIAN India 

182. Fiji Youth Sexual & Reproductive Health Alliance, Fiji

183. Foaesp - Forum das Ong Aids do estado de São Paulo, Brazil

184. FOCO Foro Ciudadano de Participación por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos, Argentine

185. Fix the Patent Law, South Africa

186. Fondation Eboko, France/Congo

187. Food Sovereignty Ghana, Ghana

188. Foundation for AIDS Rights, Thailand

189. Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research (FIAR), United States

190. FTA Watch, Thailand

191. Fundación Arcoíris por el respeto a la diversidad sexual, Mexico

192. Fundación GEP, Argentina 

193. Fundación IFARMA, Colombia 

194. Fundación Karisma, Colombia

195. Fundación Mexicana para la Planeación Familiar, A. C. MEXFAM, México 

196. Fundación Vía Libre, Argentina

197. Gandhi Development Trust, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 

198. GAT- Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos, Portugal

199. GenderCCSA, Gauteng, South Africa

200. Gene Ethics Limited, Australia

201. Gestos HIV and AIDS communication gender, Brazil

202. Gladiators of Hope, South Africa 

203. Grandmothers Advocacy Network, Canada 

204. Global Health Advocates France, France

205. Global Justice Now, United Kingdom

206. Governance Links Tanzania, Tanzania

207. Group of 80+ South Africa-affiliated Academics, South Africa 

208. Grupo de Articulación y Dialogo, Guatemala

209. Grupo de Estudos em Economia Industrial, Brazil

210. Grupo de Incentivo à Vida GIV, Brazil

211. Grupo de Resistência Asa Branca- GRAB, Brazil

212. GTP+ Grupo de Trabalhos em Prevenção Posithivo, Brazil

213. Handelskampanjen, Norway 

214. Health GAP, South Africa

215. Health Equity Initiatives, Malaysia

216. Health Innovation in Practice, Switzerland 

217. Health Right Network, Republic of Korea

218. Hepatitis Scotland, United Kingdom

219. HIV Legal Network, Canada

220. Hospice Palliative Care Association (HPCA), South Africa

221. Human Rights Information and Training Center -HRITC, Yemen, Middle East

222. Indonesia AIDS Coalition, Indonesia 

223. Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), Indonesia 

224. Initiative for Health & Equity in Society, India

225. Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas, Brazil 

226. instituto para el desarrollo y la paz amazonica, Tarapoto - región San Martín - Perú 

227. Instituto Vida Nova Integração Social Educação e cidadania, Brazil

228. Integrated Social Development Effort (ISDE) Bangladesh

229. International Community of Women living with HIV- Kenya Chapter, Kenya

230. International-Lawyers.Org Switzerland

231. International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific, Malaysia

232. IP Unit, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town, South Africa

233. ISP Américas - Public Service International, Brazil

234. IT for Change, India

235. Its Our Future, New Zealand

236. Jan Swasthya Abhiyan Rajasthan, India

237. Johannesburg Against Injustice (JAI), South Africa

238. Just Treatment, United Kingdom

239. Kamara organic promoter, Rwanda 

240. Kamukunji Paralegal Trust (KAPLET), Republic of Korea

241. Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, India

242. Knowledge commune, South Korea

243. Khulumani Support Group, South Africa 

244. Korean Dentists Association for Healthy Society, South Korea

245. Korean Federation Medical Activist Groups for Health Rights (Association of Korea Doctors for health rights, Association of Physicians for Humanism, Korean Dentist's Association for Healthy Society, Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society, Solidarity for worker's health), Republic of Korea)

246. Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society, South Korea

247. La Mundial, Spain

248. Lawyers Collective, India

249. Les anges du ciel, Afrique Centrale, DRCongo

250. Look Good Feel Better (LGFB), South Africa

251. Love Your Nuts (LYN), South Africa

252. Low Cost Standard Therapeutics, India

253. Lupus Foundation of South Africa, South Africa

254. Lymphoedema Association of South Africa (LAOSA), South Africa 

255. Madhyam, India 

256. Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (MANERELA+), Malawi

257. Malaysian Food Security And Sovereignty Forum (FKKM), Malaysia 

258. Malaysian Women's Action on Tobacco Control and Health (MyWATCH), Malaysia

259. Marie Stopes South Africa

260. Medical Students Association of India

261. Medico international, Germany

262. Médicos sin marca Colombia 

263. Medicusmundi, Spain 

264. Men’s Foundation, South Africa

265. Merebank Activist forum, South Africa

266. Milwaukee Fair Trade Coalition , Wisconsin, United States

267. Misión Salud, Colombia

268. Mopaids Movimento Paulistano de Luta Contra a Aids, Brazil 

269. New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, New Zealand 

270. New Woman Foundation ( NWF), Egypt 

271. National Council Against Smoking, South Africa

272. National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, Sri Lanka

273. National Oncology Nursing Society of SA (NONSA), South Africa

274. National Union of Public and General Employees, Canada

275. National University of Colombia, Colombia

276. National Working Group on Patent Laws and WTO, India

277. Nepal Integrated Development Initiatives (NIDI), Nepal

278. NGO Federation of Nepal, Nepal

279. NGO's platform of Saida- Lebanon

280. Nigerian Women Agro Allied Farmers Association 

281. Nikithemba NPO, South Africa

282. Non-communicable Disease Alliance Kenya, Kenya

283. Nuances, Brazil

284. Observatório de Políticas e do Cuidado em Saúde/ Pólo UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

285. Ongd AFRICANDO, Spain

286. Organisation des Ruraux pour une Agriculture Durable (ORAD), Benin

287. OTMeds (Observatoire de la transparence dans les politiques du médicament), France

288. Pancreatic Cancer Network of SA (PanCan), South Africa

289. Palestinian NGOs Network, Palestine

290. PAPDA, (Plateforme haïtienne de plaidoyer pour un développement alternative) Haïti

291. Participatory Ecological Land Use Management Association Eswatini, Swaziland

292. Participatory Research Action Network (PRAN), Bangladesh 

293. Partnership Network Association, Kyrgyzstan

294. Pan-African Treatment Access Movement (PATAM), Zimbabwe 

295. People Living With Cancer (PLWC), South Africa

296. People’s Health Institute, Republic of Korea 

297. People's Health Movement Australia 

298. People's Health Movement Brazil

299. People's Health Movement Kenya 

300. People's Health Movement Nepal

301. People's Health Movement Republic of Korea

302. People's Health Movement South Africa 

303. Phoenix Center for Economics & Informatics Studies-Jordan

304. Phoenix PLUS, Russia

305. Phoenix Settlement Trust, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

306. Pink Parasol Project, South Africa 

307. Pink Trees for Pauline (Pink Trees), South Africa

308. Plataforma No Gracias, Spain

309. Plataforma Salud y Sanidad Pública Asturias, SPAIN

310. Pocket Cancer Support, South Africa

311. Policies for Equitable Access to Health (PEAH), Italy 

312. Policy Analysis and Research of Lesotho, Lesotho

313. Positive Initiative, Republic of Moldova 

314. Positive Malaysian Treatment Access & Advocacy Group (MTAAG+), Malaysia 

315. Positive response for treatment access, adherence and support foundation, Nigeria

316. Prayas, India 

317. Presentation Sisters, Wagga Wagga, NSW Australia 

318. Prince MSHIYENI MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, South Africa 

319. Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy, Northeastern U. School of Law, United States 

320. Public Citizen, United States 

321. Public Eye, Switzerland 

322. Public Health Association of Australia

323. Rajasthan vidyut prasaran mazdoor congres intuc, Rajastan, India

324. Rainbows and Smiles, South Africa

325. Reach for Recovery (RFR), South Africa

326. Red Mexicana de acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC), Mexico 

327. Rede Brasileira Pela Integração dos Povos (REBRIP), Brazil

328. Rede jovem Rio mais, Brazil 

329. Religions for Peace South Africa

330. Republican public association "People PLUS", Belarus

331. Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology, India

332. Réseau Accès aux Médicaments Essentiels, Burkina Faso

333. Réseau Mauritanien Pour L’Action Sociale- Mauritanie

334. Réseau PRODDES, République Démocratique du Congo 

335. Right to Health Action [R2H Action], United States 

336. Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Malaysia

337. Salud por Derecho, Spain

338. Salud y Fármacos, United States

339. Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanstha, India

340. Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic, Canada 

341. Sanidad española, Spain

342. Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, India

343. Save Seeds Japan, Japan 

344. Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders Alliance (SABDA), South Africa

345. SEARCH Foundation, Australia

346. SECTION27, South Africa

347. Sisters of Charity Federation, United States

348. Social Awareness Service Organisation, India

349. Social Watch Bénin 

350. Social Watch - Côte d'Ivoire

351. Social Watch – Philippines

352. Sociedad española de salud publica y administración sanitaria, Spain

353. Society for Community Health, Awareness, Research and Action (SOCHARA), South Africa

354. Society of Development and Care, Kenya

355. Solidarité Agissante pour le Développement Familial SADF, République Démocratique du Congo

356. Solidarity for Worker’s Health, Republic of Korea

357. S.O.S CEDIA - Criança e Desenvolvimento Integral De Angola

358. South African Food Sovereignty Campaign, South Africa

359. South African Oncology Social Workers’ Forum (SAOSWF) South Africa

360. Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute, Uganda

361. Southern & East African Trade Institute - South Africa (SEATINI), South Africa

362. Speaking 4 the Planet, Australia 

363. STOPAIDS, United Kingdom

364. Students for Global Health, United Kingdom 

365. Sukaar Welfare Organization, Pakistan 

366. T1International, United Kingdom 

367. Tax Justice Network Africa, Uganda 

368. TB Proof, South Africa

369. TEDIC NGO, Paraguay

370. Terre A Vie, Ouagadougou ; Burkina Faso

371. The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) Netherlands

372. The Grail in Australia Justice Network, Australia 

373. The Organization of Journalists Against Drugs and Crime in Tanzania 

374. The Sunflower Funds (TSF), South Africa 

375. Think Tank "Medicines, Information and Power" of the National University of Colombia 

376. Trade Justice Pilipinas, Philippines

377. Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), South Africa

378. TRANSSMART TRUST, Zimbabwe

379. Tripla Difesa Onlus, Italy 

380. TRCSS (Transdisciplinary Research Cluster on Sustainability Studies) JNU Jawaharial Nehru University, New Delhi, India 

381. Treatment Action Group, United States

382. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), South Africa

383. The South African Federation of Mental Health (SAFMH), South Africa

384. The South African Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance (SANCD Alliance), South Africa

385. The Cancer Alliance including Advocates for Breast Cancer, South Africa

386. The Stop Stock Outs Project (SSP), South Africa 

387. Trade Justice PEI, Canada 

388. UDK Consultancy, Malawi

389. ULOA...Uganda land owners association, Uganda

390. Unions WA, Western Australia

391. Unión del Personal Civil de la Nación, Argentina

392. Union fédérale des consommateurs - Que Choisir, France

393. Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+), Vietnam 

394. VREDE Foundation for Young People with Cancer (Vrede Foundation) South Africa

395. War on Want, United Kingdom

396. Washington Biotechnology Action Council, United States 

397. Wemos, The Netherlands

398. We Rise and Prosper (WRAP), Uganda

399. Wings of Hope (WoH) South Africa 

400. Win Without War, United States

401. Woman Health Philippines 

402. Women Engage for a Common Future – The Netherlands

403. Women's Coalition Against Cancer, Malawi 

404. World Vision Deutschland e.V.,Germany

405. Wote Youth Development Projects, Kenya

406. Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights-Yemen 

407. Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity, Lusaka

408. Zimbabwe National Network of PLHIV (ZNNP+), Zimbabwe

* List updated May 31, 2021


¹ https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/LDC-testing-30-Sep.pdf

² Small group of rich nations have bought up more than half the future supply of leading COVID-19 vaccine contenders, https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/small-group-rich-nations-have-bought-more-half-future-supply-leading-covid-19    

³ Astra Zeneca vaccine document shows limit of no-profit pledge, Financial Times, 7th October 2020.

 Pharma leaders shoot down WHO voluntary pool for patent rights on Covid-19 products, Pharmalot, 28th May 2020.

 See for example: Pfizer-BioNTech, Regeneron sued for patent infringement with COVID-19 products https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-biontech-regeneron-sued-for-infringement-allele-s-patent-their-covid-19-products; Lawsuit reveals intellectual property is holding back production of CEPI- and Gates Foundation-funded COVID- 19 vaccine candidate, https://twn.my/title2/briefing_papers/twn/Hammond.pdf; Pandemic intellectual property dispute deepens as Inovio iscountersued, leaving its COVID-19 candidate in limbo, https://twn.my/title2/briefing_papers/twn/Inovio%20countersued%20IP-COVI...; Patent dispute looms as a major complication for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, https://twn.my/title2/briefing_papers/twn/Moderna%20IP-COVID%20Aug%20202...

 For example, price of remdesivir in the US amounts to US$ 3120 per treatment and licensed generic versions in India cost US$ from 587 to 792 per treatment course6, while estimated minimum cost to manufacture remdesivir with a reasonable profit margin is only US$ 9 per treatment course.

 India and South Africa proposal for WTO waiver from intellectual property protections for COVID-19-related medical technologies, MSF October 2020, https://msfaccess.org/india-and-south-africa-proposal-wto-waiver-ip-prot...19-related-medical-technologies

 

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