The World Trade Organization’s decision on a waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines may have fallen short of expectations of some stakeholders in terms of addressing wider inequities in access to lifesaving medical tools, but Afrigen Biologics, which is at the heart of the World Health Organization-backed mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub initiative in South Africa, asserts that it at least provides operational gains.
Afrigen’s managing director, Petro Terblanche told Scrip that the waiver gives the company the freedom to use ingredients that are patent protected in its processes.