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1/ So with the chat about how long an IP waiver for covid-19 vaccines might take to obtain through @WTO, and how long it takes to make vaccines, it is worth pointing out that a shift in US attitude on the waiver might help @BiolysePharma in Canada quite quickly.
2/ So @BiolysePharma wants to make the J&J vaccine. J&J has declined. However, Canada has a law that allows for compulsory licensing in health emergencies. It was introduced in 2004 to help firms produce life-saving patented medicine such as HIV drugs in lower-income countries.
4/ There is a catch, though. To use this legislation the government has to put covid-19 vaccines onto a schedule of drugs attached to the legislation. The problem, though, is there is no obvious way to get *onto* this list.
5/ So @johnfulton of Biolyse has had meetings with
20 to 25 officials in four different Canadian ministries and even managed to leave @JustinTrudeau a voicemail. He has still not managed to get onto the list. But @johnfulton isn't a man to give up easily....
20 to 25 officials in four different Canadian ministries and even managed to leave @JustinTrudeau a voicemail. He has still not managed to get onto the list. But @johnfulton isn't a man to give up easily....
6/ In 2006, he managed to get the antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) put on the list during H5N1 outbreak. It took him 7 to 8 months to get it on. Then they reverse-engineered the drug.
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/p-4/page-28.html#h-413972
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/p-4/page-28.html#h-413972
7/ On covid-19 vaccines and Schedule 1, Fulton says it is day 66 and still no answer from the government.
8/ So with the shift in stance signaled by its American neighbours via @AmbassadorTai it doesn't take too much of a flight of fancy to imagine that @justintrudeau might suddenly find his biro down the side of the sofa and put covid-19 vaccines onto schedule 1.
9/ But @johnfulton says once you are on the list "the patent disappears". Then we get to how @biolysepharma would make the J&J vaccine. They say they can reverse engineer it, but it will be quicker if J&J helps. However, the final catch is volume.
10/ The firm can only make 20m vaccines a year. He knows of another Canadian firm that might be able to do 50m.
11/ The question that will remain in all of this is whether the small flotilla of boats approach to boosting covid-19 vaccine production is better than a small number of super tankers. There are other questions, too. But this is one piece of the puzzle of IP and vaccines.
