Who should own the rights to make COVID-19 vaccines?

South Africa and India are urging the World Trade Organization to remove patent restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines.

For developing nations, many of which have not received a single shot, this would allow them to mass-produce vaccines.

Ten wealthy nations have secured the majority of supplies.

The United States and European countries, where major drugmakers are based, are against patents being available free for all.

So who should own the rights to make and distribute medicines during a global health crisis?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Max Lawson – head of inequality policy at Oxfam International

Rajeshwari Hariharan – intellectual property lawyer and legal counsel for Natco Pharma

Jeffrey Lazarus – head of the Health Systems Research Group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health