Expert Spotlight: COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Waiver
This week, the Biden administration announced its support for waiving intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines. For reporters covering this development, Professor Bashar Malkawi is available to provide commentary and analysis.
Malkawi's research examines in-depth patent protection and the pharmaceutical industry, and the impact this has on access to medicine. He is the author of several books, book chapters, and law review articles on intellectual property issues covering topics ranging from standard essential patent (SEP) and licenses, royalty rate determination in patent infringement cases, TRIPS Agreement, to parallel imports. Malkawi is Global Professor of Practice in Law at the University of Arizona. Read his opinion piece for The Hill from 2020: "We need to relax intellectual property rules to fight this virus"
Email: [email protected]
"The debate is raging among countries regarding waiving intellectual property rights under the World Trade Organization as countries battle the spread of COVID 19. Without waiving these rights, many countries would not be able to manufacture or import vaccines without infringing on the rights of drug manufacturers such as Pfizer."