As more companies gear up to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, a growing number of government officials, lawmakers, academics, and advocacy groups are seeking to ensure widespread access to medical products for combating Covid-19.
Over the past two days, more than 30 members of the European Parliament and dozens of advocacy groups separately urged the European Commission to avoid granting monopolies that might allow manufacturers to eventually charge prices for medicines, vaccines, or diagnostics that would be out of reach for poorer populations around the world.
And World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted that he “welcomes” a proposal made this week by Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada to create a voluntary pool to collect patent rights, regulatory test data, and other information that could be shared for developing products. A WHO spokeswoman, though, told us a decision has not yet been made.
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