A Covid-19 vaccine should be affordable for all

Type: Campaign briefings
Date: 27 March 2020
Campaigns: Pharma

As coronavirus rips through the world, the race is on to find a vaccine for Covid-19. There are already reports of promising candidates as well the start of human trials. And this progress is largely thanks to public investment in biomedical research and development (R&D). But there is a real danger that, without effective safeguards, big pharmaceutical firms could profiteer from price gouging which would prevent widespread access to coronavirus treatments and threaten the world’s ability to stop the spread of this pandemic. The UK government needs to take firm action to ensure that any vaccine developed with public funding is accessible and affordable.

We are calling for:

• Public interest conditions on access, affordability and transparency to be attached to all UK public funding for R&D on Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
• The use of Crown Use licenses for any patented technologies for tackling Covid-19, where patient access may be restricted by monopolies.
• Commitment to global efforts to agree equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments for all.