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Hello, Communicators:

Global COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers face mounting criticism for neglecting to share their proprietary patents and technology more freely with other pharmaceutical manufacturers, particularly those in developing countries.

While a global vaccine technology-sharing pool was proposed to the World Health Organization (WHO) last year, no vaccine manufacturer has agreed to the program. Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla called the concept “nonsense,” despite the WHO saying that limited, exclusive licensing of the vaccine tech is insufficient to address the current global health crisis.

“Drug companies are lobbying the Biden administration to block a push at the WHO by India, South Africa and about 80 other countries for a temporary waiver on patent protections for the new vaccines,” reports The Washington Post.  “The pharmaceutical industry argues that innovation as well as vaccine quality and safety depend on maintaining exclusive intellectual property rights.”