Episode 88: Ellen 'T Hoen on Waiving Patents to Support Global Access to COVID Vaccines

October 19, 2021 00:26:21
Episode 88: Ellen 'T Hoen on Waiving Patents to Support Global Access to COVID Vaccines
Law Bytes
Episode 88: Ellen 'T Hoen on Waiving Patents to Support Global Access to COVID Vaccines

Oct 19 2021 | 00:26:21

/

Show Notes

The global struggle for access to COVID-19 vaccines took a dramatic turn recently as the Biden Administration in the United States unexpectedly reversed its longstanding opposition to a patent waiver designed to facilitate access to vaccines in the developing world. The shift seemingly caught many by surprise. Pharmaceutical companies were quick to voice opposition and U.S. allies found themselves being asked to take positions. That was certainly the case in Canada, where the Canadian government has steadfastly refused to support the waiver with repeated claims that it had yet to make a decision.

Ellen ‘t Hoen, is a lawyer and public health advocate with over 30 years of experience working on pharmaceutical and intellectual property policies. From 1999 until 2009 she was the director of policy for Médecins sans Frontières’ Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. In 2009 she joined UNITAID in Geneva to set up the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). Ellen is currently the director of Medicines Law & Policy and a researcher at the University Medical Centre Groningen. She joins the Lawbytes podcast this week to talk about the fight for a patent waiver and the implications of the Biden decision for global access to COVID vaccines.

The podcast can be downloaded here, accessed on YouTube, and is embedded below. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify or the RSS feed. Updates on the podcast on Twitter at @Lawbytespod.

Credits:

CNBC, Biden Administration Supports Waiver of Patent Protections for Covid Vaccines

Other Episodes

Episode 0

November 06, 2023 00:37:02
Episode Cover

Episode 183: Andres Guadamuz on the Battle Over Copyright and Generative AI

Generative AI raises a host of interesting legal issues, but perhaps none will be more contentious than the intersection between copyright and services such...

Listen

Episode 0

July 18, 2022 00:47:42
Episode Cover

Episode 135: Co-Chair Emily Laidlaw on the Work of the Government's Expert Advisory Group on Online Safety

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez created an Expert Advisory Group on Online Safety earlier this year to help craft a potential legislative and policy...

Listen

Episode 0

October 19, 2021 00:38:41
Episode Cover

Episode 84: Dwayne Winseck and Ben Klass on Canada's Wireless Woes

Last week was a busy one in the wireless world in Canada. Just as people were debating the proposed Rogers – Shaw merger, the...

Listen