The declaration of coronavirus as a pandemic by World Health
Organizations (WHO) on 11th March 2020 has captured the world’s attention.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new pressure on the world that was discovered in
2019. Almost all countries are overwhelmed by the rate at which COVID-19 is
spreading within their territory; the pressure is hard given the lack of
medical facilities and equipment. WHO is committed to helping affected
countries and as of today they have shipped almost 1.5 million test kits to
over 120 countries. Like many other countries, Namibia has reported cases of
COVID-19 and in response; the government has declared a state of emergency in
response to the outbreak of the virus. The government has put up measures in
place to make sure the novel virus
is contained and its spread is mitigated, which is a praiseworthy
action.
There
is no specific drug/vaccine available now for this deadly disease. The world is
trembling; almost every day a new case is reported around the globe, some
countries have decided to close off their borders and ban flights from affected
countries as measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. COVID-19 poses risk
on the company’s workforce resulting in absenteeism due to illness, loss of
skilled workers, loss of customers and most importantly potential loss in
profits. Notwithstanding all measures and controls, some courses of action
toward the possible drug/ vaccine should be initiated. Some questions of
interest are; who will make the vaccine or drug available?
What are we doing
back in our research centers and laboratories?
Do we wait for the drugs from
the West?
The situation is getting worse every day and we should acknowledge
that the human intellectual
ability is put to test.
A human being is a
perfect image of God and our ability is that of God creator, so we can create
(invent) the drug/vaccine for this virus and I am of the high conviction that crises of this kind can bring out the
best of us. From intellectual
property (IP) perspective, the urgency of discovering coronavirus potential
drugs should not be propelled by the obsession of getting the solution to the crises
(coronavirus) alone, but also by the IP that will be gain upon a successful
invention. IP refers to properties created as a result of the human intellect. Patent as a form of IP is the most
relevant in this context; it is an exclusive right conferred to an inventor
for inventing a new invention that can be a solution to a problem in the field
of science and technology particularly a solution to coronavirus.
The inventor
exploits the invention for a prescribed duration and the logic behind IP
is to reward the inventor for the work. Many can agree that work without
incentives is antithetical to human nature and if a human could be compensated
the same for doing something and doing nothing, they could probably do nothing
almost every time. An inventor may take out a patent for any drug/vaccine that
may cure coronavirus and may exploit the invention. It is high time we consider
inventing the coronavirus drugs.
Researchers all over the world are
working on developing a vaccine for coronavirus, they are even working in
competition with each other. Each team wants to be the first to develop a
vaccine so that they can secure a patent and get immensely rich. The
national health emergency as declared by the Head of State, on its own is a
clear summon of our ability to solve the calamity. Hence, it is time for local scientists,
researchers, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology experts to team up with
the government and conduct research and development (R&D) with the main
objective of developing a treatment for coronavirus. During the R&D, all the available
pharmaceutical patents (including those that are not yet in the public domain) can
be used without the permission of the rights holder for the experiment to come up
with a drug/vaccine for the coronavirus.
It
is more beneficial to do research and subsequently manufacture the drugs/vaccine
within the country compared to importing drugs because the drugs/vaccine can
fast be made available to the user or hospitals and probably at a much better
price. Also if a drug/vaccine is developed through collaboration herein
described, the inventors including the government can jointly own the Patent (a constitutionally recognized property,
article 16 of act 1/1990) and share the benefits thereof. Other countries
may also seek to purchase a license of the patent which in turn contributes to
the national economy.
Making
use of pharmaceutical drugs or products that are protected under patent law during
this difficult time should not be a concern at all because our laws made some
exceptions. Namibia is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and a
signatory to the Doha Declaration on Trade and Related Aspect of Intellectual
Property rights (TRIPs) and Public health. The agreement in Article 31 provide flexibilities to access pharmaceutical drugs under patent during National
health emergencies. These flexibilities have been correctly adopted in our
national laws.
Hence,
during this period, where any drug (coronavirus vaccine) is developed and a patent
is secured in Namibia, the government can apply for a compulsory license as
required by section 57 of Act 1/2012 (Industrial Property Act). In addition to a
compulsory license, another option is the exploitation of the patented invention by the Government or person authorized
by the Government to
make use of the patents as required by section 63 of the same Act. Our laws allow
the grant of “compulsory licenses” to third parties or for government use,
without the authorization of the right holder. These options applied where a
national emergency or circumstance of extreme urgency has arisen, including a
public health crisis, which requires the use of the patented invention. This
means that any patented invention may be used for a crisis like this one, at a
minimal amount of money, and the drugs/vaccine can easily be disseminated for
use.
From
the IPR desk, while we remain calm and follow all guidelines as issued, as a
country, we have the option of researching and exploiting intellectual property
rights in the development of a vaccine for coronavirus. IP is what drives us to
solutions, it is just a matter of testing our capabilities and gaining trust in
science as a nation and the global health crises can be over.
By:
Onesmus K Joseph - ACIS/BAP/CFIP/PPL
MPHIL Candidate - KNUST (Kumasi;
Ghana)
Governance Professional
josephonesmus@yahoo.com
