Pharmalittle: White House eyes suspending patent rights on Covid-19 vaccines; J&J supplier may be a vaccine bottleneck

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was refreshing and exhilarating, because that familiar routine of deadlines and meetings has returned. And given that high winds have descended on the Pharmalot campus, we are in particular need of several cups of stimulation. Perhaps, you can relate. So please join us as we hoist a cup and proceed with the task at hand. As always, here are some tidbits to get you started. Have a great day, and stay in touch. …

The White House is weighing 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 CNBC. 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 waive the protections until the pandemic is over, but the issue was tabled without a resolution.

A pharmaceutical contractor under scrutiny for its ties to former government officials could be one of the bottlenecks holding up the production of millions of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Covid-19 vaccines, Roll Call reports. Emergent BioSolutions (EBS), which makes the active ingredient in the vaccines, is still awaiting regulatory authorization and its doses were not included in the paperwork J&J submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. This means material Emergent makes would not be available for vaccines to be administered in the U.S. now.

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