The Biden administration has agreed to license several COVID health technologies to the World Health Organization (WHO) to allow global manufacturers to develop therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostic tools in effort to end the pandemic.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is providing the licenses to the WHO's COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP)--which was launched in effort to give poorer nations better access to COVID treatment technologies--and the United Nations' Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to make these technologies more readily accessible to low- and middle-income countries.
"I welcome the generous contribution NIH has made to C-TAP and its example of solidarity and sharing," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, in press statement. "Whether it's today's pandemic or tomorrow's health emergency, it's through sharing and empowering lower-income countries to manufacture their own health tools that we can ensure a healthier future for everyone."
The 11 technologies offered include the stabilized spike protein used in mRNA-based vaccines developed by companies like Pfizer
The spike protein technology is the component in mRNA vaccines that trigger an immune system response and "train" the body to recognize and attack the COVID virus to later protection against infection. While the NIH still holds licenses for other components of mRNA vaccines, licensing the spike protein to C-TAP and the MPP will allow generic manufacturers to use this groundbreaking technology.
Before this decision, Moderna was not enforcing its patent in over 90 poorer nations, while Pfizer has provided 1 billion doses of its vaccine to the U.S. government in donation to low-income nations.
Additionally, the White House has also committed another $200 million to the World Bank's Pandemic Preparedness and Global Health Security Fund, bringing its total donation to $450 million, President Joe Biden said in remarks at the Global COVID-19 Summit on Thursday.
Biden also called on Congress to work urgently to pass more COVID-19 funding to help the U.S. maintain its supply of COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines--including next-gen vaccines that are being developed to better protect against mutated strains including Omicron.
"The request also includes $5 billion to keep up our global partnership in the fight against COVID-19 and sustain our efforts to get shots in people's arms all around the world, expand access to treatment, and save lives everywhere," Biden added.
