On: “Patent protection for vaccinations should fall”, agency report and “New Wind from Washington”, contribution by Wolfgang Mulke (Politics, May 7)
What numerous non-governmental organizations have long advocated is now within reach. The patent protection for the Covid-19 vaccines is to be lifted. The goal is a faster supply of people – especially in the countries of the global south – with the vaccine. With the initiative of US President Joe Biden, the discussion has reached the center of Western societies.
And who does not support the approach? Our federal government! This behavior confirms once again that Ms. Merkel (CDU) is primarily committed to the interests of the economy, in the specific case for the interests of the pharmaceutical lobby and its shareholders. Our CDU-led federal government is accepting that real opportunities to get the pandemic under control more quickly will be wasted and that countless people will have to die or suffer from the long-term consequences.
An important aspect of vaccine production is undoubtedly the guarantee of high quality standards and strict controls. However, denying other countries the ability to manufacture complex chemical products from the outset is, in my opinion, related to the still existing colonial thinking that has to be overcome. Many drugs have not been produced in Europe or America for years. I also cannot share the concern that the release of patents will prevent innovations. The more researchers can deal with further developments, the greater the chance that groundbreaking new therapies will be found.
The question of how research will be funded remains. As long as the pharmaceutical market functions according to the laws of capitalism, lucrative sales markets are primarily taken into account in research projects, and only then the needs of sick people. What we need is research that is more independent of financial interests, and not just in the area of the pharmaceutical market. Pharmaceuticals should serve the common good and not capital interests. Greater commitment from the public sector is essential for this.
Irene Kunz-Woestmann, Emmendingen
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