Reflexes can save lives, as everyone knows. The disadvantage of reflexes, however, is that they largely bypass conscious thinking. In this respect, they are only of limited use for more complex problem solutions. The demand to “release” patents for corona vaccines is one such reflex. Amnesty International and Bread for the World have now also joined, after MEPs, representatives of civil society and Nobel Prize winners.
But the patents are not the problem for the scandalously unequal distribution of vaccines in the world. The manufacturer Moderna, for example, already announced in October that it did not want to enforce the Covid 19 vaccine patents for the duration of the pandemic. In other words: if someone wanted to cook the vaccine recipe, which is also freely available, they could have started months ago. The same applies to other manufacturers. But where is the problem then?
The MPs, who are now moaning, did not want to provide any money at the beginning of the pandemic
On the one hand, it’s because not everyone with a saucepan can stir up mRNA vaccines. This requires special factories and mRNA specialists, because this is a completely new technology. Not even most established pharmaceutical companies have mastered it. On the other hand, certain components have to be supplied, just one example: Every mRNA vaccine molecule needs a “cap” (a special “guanine”), for which there is only one supplier. Before the pandemic, a few grams of these molecules were ordered per year, now they are needed by the kilo within weeks. And that goes for every part of the vaccine, right down to the vial. The expansion of logistics and new factories costs time and money. Incidentally, the MEPs, who are now moaning about patents, were reluctant to provide exactly this money to the companies at the beginning of the pandemic for the expansion of their production capacities.
It is certainly true that patents and the associated high prices can contribute to the inadequate availability of certain medicines in poorer countries, and it is good and right to denounce this. However, it must also be borne in mind that innovative companies in a market economy need a monetary incentive to research life-saving drugs.
Companies like Biontech and Curevac, which have tested mRNA technology for over twenty years and each required hundreds of millions of euros from risky investors, trust that patents will protect research and development services from being accessed by others. If this trust is lost, no one will set out to develop new drugs.
I am a technology author with 8 years of experience in journalism. My writing covers the latest technology advancements and trends, drawing on my expertise in news journalism and social media platforms. I have contributed to major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
