The speech will present an analytical review of research and development of COVID-19 vaccines and their patent landscape to illustrate the interaction between intellectual property and technological innovation in the pharmaceutical industry and its impact on the public health.

Since its outbreak in January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused 3.4 million deaths globally.

Unprecedented speed in vaccine research and development and production has been recognized as a critical part of the solution in ending the pandemic.  However, uneven distribution of and access to the vaccine has posed a significant obstacle to effectively resolving the pandemic.  There are many root causes for the uneven distribution of vaccines and other medical products, including unbalanced distribution of global pharmaceutical manufacturing capacities.  Thus, promoting technology transfer and local production is one of the measures that can be deployed by governments to address the inequity issue.

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the global debate on a complex and longstanding public policy issue, that is, the role for IP protection, particularly patent protection, in the promotion of innovation and technology transfer.  The public policy issue is at the heart of planning for sustainable social and economic development and touches on essential questions in other vital areas as climate change and information and communication technology.

This speech will provide an analytic review of patterns and trends of innovation and patenting activities related to ten COVID-19 vaccines, including what has been patented, who has applied for these patents, when and where these patents have been filed.  It will illustrate the importance of these information in the policy debate on the role of IP rights in the promotion of innovation and technology transfer, and in developing and making national IP policies, strategies and legislative decisions in response to future pandemics and other public policy issues.