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Angela Merkel (archive photo)
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KAY NIETFELD / AFP
After the EU summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) spoke out clearly against weakening the patent protection for corona vaccines.
"I've made it clear here once again that I don't believe that releasing patents is the solution to making vaccine available to more people," she said.
“I believe that we need the creativity and innovative strength of companies.” This includes patent protection.
A political debate has been raging for days over the relaxation of intellectual property rights, which poorer countries have long been calling for and which US President Joe Biden surprisingly supported this week.
Unlike in many industrialized countries such as the USA or Germany, very few people there are vaccinated against Covid-19.
If the patents were released, other manufacturers could also produce without license fees.
The pharmaceutical companies that own the rights are resisting this.
Merkel explicitly warned against the release of patents for very complicated vaccines.
The quality of production must also be ensured.
That works best if companies expand their production, grant licenses and pay attention to quality, she said.
"It's the safest way to vaccine for everyone."
German companies are quickly issuing licenses for production abroad.
The willingness to cooperate is high here.
"If a patent is simply released without the quality being properly controlled every time, I see more risks than opportunities."
The corona vaccines from Biontech and its US partner Pfizer as well as from Moderna are based on the new mRNA technology and have so far shown the highest effectiveness of all approved corona vaccines.
Biontech also does not consider a patent release to be expedient, but wants to accommodate poor countries in terms of price.
"We will continue to provide low- and lower-middle-income countries with our vaccine at a not-for-profit price," the company said.
They are convinced that the continuous expansion of production capacities will help to end the pandemic.
Patents are "not the limiting factor for the production or supply of our vaccine."
ssu / dpa