The White House was ruminating on raising the intellectual property shield

The White House is studying whether to suspend intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, in response to pressure from developing nations and subsequent support from progressive lawmakers, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

A temporary suspension of intellectual property protections would apply to all medical technologies to treat or prevent Covid-19. South Africa and India made a formal request to the World Trade Organization to relinquish protections until the pandemic ends, but the issue came up unresolved.

The White House convened a meeting of deputy-level political leaders on March 22, a senior administration official said, but they did not reach a final decision.

The White House review responds to a letter sent in late March by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging the administration to study the issue after several Democratic colleagues, including Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. , Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. it caught his attention. The letter has not been released to the public. But a senior aide said Pelosi supports the position of its members, who are in favor of issuing the resignation, even temporarily.

“The vision is‘ We’re not safe until the world is safe, ’” one source said about the support of Capitol Hill progressives.

The measure would allow other countries to replicate existing vaccines. The United States has so far approved three vaccines: one developed by the American company Pfizer and the German BioNTech, another produced by the American firm Moderna and the third by the American company Johnson & Johnson.

Concerns have grown about the United States and a handful of other rich countries that have rights to a disproportionate amount of the global vaccine supply, while other nations are struggling to inoculate their people.

Hill first reported the support of progressive lawmakers to the movement.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, which was expected to issue a final verdict on the World Trade Organization, said saving lives and ending the pandemic remains the “top priority for the United States.”

“As part of rebuilding our alliances, we are exploring all avenues to coordinate with our global partners and are evaluating the effectiveness of this specific proposal for its true potential to save lives,” he told CNBC USTR spokesman Adam Hodge.

The pharmaceutical industry has been strongly opposed to relinquishing patent protections. The concern in doing so will undermine innovation to combat future diseases.

CNBC contacted Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson for comment.

Clete Willems, former deputy director of the National Economic Council, said lifting the protections would set a dangerous precedent for technology sharing.

“The administration must avoid this trap, which would undermine decades of U.S. policy against forced technology transfer to countries like China and not directly increase vaccine distribution,” said Willems, now a partner. by Akin Gump, on CNBC. “The model they pursue with their Quad partners is much more promising.”

Ahead of a March 12 meeting, the Quad – a group made up of the United States, India, Japan and Australia that seeks to counter China’s influence – announced a comprehensive financing agreement that would improve vaccine manufacturing. in the Indian-Pacific. where there has been scarcity. The group set a goal to supply up to 1 billion vaccines by 2022.

Nearly 19% of American adults and approximately 15% of the total U.S. population are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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