Trenton, May 6, 2021 ― HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) President and Chief Executive Officer Dean J. Paranicas today issued the following statement about the Biden Administration’s announced support of the World Trade Organization’s proposal to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines:
“The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) is extremely concerned about the implications of the Biden Administration’s decision to support the waiver of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines as a means to boost the global supply of the vaccines.
We agree that collaborative approaches currently being undertaken and planned around the world to speed up production and distribution of vaccines are a more plausible means to achieve that goal, and that do not involve taking the intellectual property rights of institutions that rely on them to combat diseases and advance global human health.
Intellectual property is the lifeblood of American innovation, which is why preserving it has been a core value since our country’s founding. It is medical innovation involving many actors that enabled the unparalleled development, production and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines. Without intellectual property protections, life sciences companies would be unable to pursue the research and conduct the clinical trials that have already saved so many lives in America and around the world.
We implore all policymakers from the local to the international level to seek solutions to COVID-19 vaccine access that achieve that goal while preserving and protecting this critical linchpin of the continued advancement of medical innovation for the benefit of people everywhere.”