President Biden has fought hard to protect America’s global leadership in biotechnology. Most recently, he announced a $500 million investment, authorized under the CHIPS and Science Act, to spur innovation in more than 30 new “tech hubs” across the nation. And late last year, he launched the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, which aims to drive research and development, reshore jobs, and ensure our supply chain isn’t overly dependent on our rivals—all while lowering prices for American families.
But now, President Biden is confronted by another challenge that could undo these steps forward. The World Trade Organization is considering a proposal to waive intellectual property protections on COVID-19 tests and treatments. To protect American jobs and our leadership in biopharmaceutical development, it’s imperative for President Biden to reject the waiver.
Scientists have made incredible progress over the past decade-plus—and patients across the world have benefitted. We’ve conquered hepatitis C. We’ve turned HIV into a manageable disease for those who have it, and a preventable one for those who don’t. We’ve unleashed ways for the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. We’ve developed a host of new vaccines.
The list goes on. But all this remarkable progress rests on robust intellectual property rights. It’s IP that provides the incentives needed to fund the talented scientists who undertake long and risky research and development projects.
Without those protections, investors would have little hope of recouping the upfront costs associated with bringing new medicines to market. That’s why the WTO proposal is so concerning.
PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA/AFP via Getty Images
Advocates argue the waiver will increase access to tests and treatments around the world. It’s a well-intentioned and admirable goal, but there are large stockpiles of treatments going unused, and large surpluses of tests available. Indeed, the U.S. government itself recently acknowledged that demand for COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics has declined significantly in recent months.
If member nations agree to the proposal, they’ll send a message to inventors and investors that their IP rights are no longer safe. The result will be less innovation and fewer American life-science jobs, which President Biden has worked so hard to create and protect. With fewer new research projects to work on and fewer new innovations to manufacture, U.S. companies simply won’t need as many employees.
The 900,000 American jobs directly tied to the biopharmaceutical sector will be in jeopardy. And that’s not to mention the additional 3.5 million jobs indirectly supported by the industry, which in 2020 contributed more than $1.4 trillion to our economy.
Our global dominance in biotech innovation would certainly take a hit. And our global rivals would be more than happy to take our place.
China, for instance, is already closing the innovation gap separating its biotech sector from ours. In 2000, Chinese inventors received just 1 percent of all biotech patents granted worldwide. By 2019, that share was at 28 percent. Over the same time period, the share of biotech patents going to U.S. researchers fell from 45 percent to 27 percent.
By waiving IP rights, the WTO proposal would effectively allow any Chinese company to access the technologies Americans have spent billions of dollars and years developing. It would give Beijing another leg up in its quest for global dominance. And it would draw talented scientists away from the United States—and towards the booming Chinese biotech industry.
President Biden has taken critical steps to bolster one of our most successful industries, safeguard jobs, and ensure the health of future generations. It would be a grave mistake to throw that progress away—and hard-won American intellectual property away with it.
Howard Dean is the former chair of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Vermont.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.