The Year of Desperation - in Science & Survival

It's been a little over a year since the pandemic began and we are currently in the process of distributing vaccines. How did we get here in one year when on average it takes up to ten to get to this stage? Two words - global desperation. Global desperation refers to the global vaccine response which has seen pressure to use drugs not proven to be effective including the likes of hydroxychloroquine, dexamethasone, remdesivir, and drugs normally used for AIDS, cancer, etc. It's important to note the part fear has played as a motivating factor, and that this fight or flight response may have actually benefited us. While it is true that 'good clinical trials represent a solid strategy' and desperation has greatly influenced politics - it has kept the virus at the forefront of our every decision. This is especially important in an airborne virus, one that requires individuals to neglect their psychological need for connection in favor of isolation for the greater good. Amidst lockdowns, remote learning, the normalization of masks, we have required motivation to keep up and maintain these new routines. It is only by watching the news, and small talk of vaccines that has reminded us of the reality we would rather escape from.

The past year has been characterized by loss, whether that being loss of lives, economic and sociopolitical losses, or the loss of routine scientific rigor and caution. The adoption of gunslinger medicine, 'medicine practiced where there is a hunch', mass duplicative studies has caused a lot of chaos but it is largely to be expected in a global pandemic. What has been gained, however - are breakthrough mRNA vaccines and the convergence of technology that could revolutionize medicine. These include the ones manufactured by Moderna & Pfizer and are directly a product of trying to reduce the time taken to develop a vaccine and it is this fast-tracking that has enabled a greater focus of the world on gene sequencing and biotechnology.

Other vaccines have been produced with nationalistic motivations such as Russia's sputnik V, China's Sinopharm, and India's Covavax. Vaccine diplomacy and the desire to rewrite the narrative have given these countries incentive to give out local vaccines to neighboring countries and for the US to rejoin the WHO and fund Covax. In countries like New Zealand, the covid response has directly impacted politics and the public’s view of Jacinda Ardern, as well as other female-run governments with distinctly effective covid responses such as those of Tsai Ing Wen in Vietnam, and Angela Merkel of Germany. The desperation of countries to outdo others has resulted in learning from failures to contain covid such as those in Italy and the U.S and the desperation to prove oneself on the global stage have led to a strange form of indirect cooperation being established - one where the competition might lead to faster rates of mass vaccination.

Whilst desperation science has led to attitudes like those of Donald Trump downplaying the virus and advocating for ineffective drugs, it has also allowed us to find a middle ground separate from an ideally scientifically grounded approach. It has allowed us to learn as we go, and to engage society wholeheartedly in facing the pandemic.

What role do patents play in the pandemic?

The sanctity of life makes it so that any right that enables it is fundamental. Healthcare is one of these.

It is therefore important to keep in check the accessibility of healthcare in a world where pharmaceutical patents exist. What is a patent?

A patent is a property right that is granted on a wide set of claims during the development of a drug and usually lasts for twenty years.

They're meant to boost competition and investment into drug development and research - however, these drugs face no price caps and enjoy market exclusivity on an international level. In theory, this is so these corporations have an incentive to invest up to 3 billion into innovation instead of waiting around for another group to do so.

The problems here arise when so-called innovation begins to restrict people from access to these drugs or their lower-priced generic counterparts due to high prices and the delaying of entry for competitors seen with drugs like Insulin and Namenda (used by Alzheimer’s patients). Simply put, Innovation is no longer innovation when these new patents are simply used to maintain monopolies and go against what its main purpose is.

Where these patients now become highly relevant is with the coronavirus vaccines. For producers like Moderna, the uncertainty around global access due to pricing means that there will be a discrepancy in how long it takes to vaccinate in wealthier vs poorer countries. The best way forward may be to waive said patents and to make it so vaccines can be produced for lower cost in areas around the world so to inoculate in a way that is geographically adequate; the pandemic will still be a risk until the entirety of the world has been vaccinated and thus the challenges of distribution need to be assessed in terms of opportunity cost.

The argument then is, should states or corporations be in charge of development?

It's important to recognize that there is a similar incentive to develop these vaccines for the purpose of advancing soft diplomacy by being one of the first countries to develop it. The reliability of demand comes along with doses required in the millions similar to patents being used to prevent market failure. Here, more than innovation there is a need for accessibility and lower costs. It is the job of the government to cater to its citizens and it already does so through mechanisms like health insurance.

Therefore, when put in the hands of corporations interested in maximizing profit instead of maximizing the accessibility of what should be a public good is where the practice of patenting is ineffective.

This is why it's important for the discourse around patents to be picked up in order to ensure that the regulation surrounding them is ethical and works to serve the purpose of better healthcare.