Mr. Matt Moran:

I thank the Chairman and members for inviting us. Following on from Mr. O'Connor, I will continue our contribution.

A draft proposal released in March by the WTO puts forward a limited waiver or modified compulsory licensing provisions for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. We consider these proposals as serious risks to global public health. Voluntary production partnerships have been shown to work, as Mr. O'Connor outlined. We must avoid dampening research and development, which would damage health outcomes, as well as potentially costing jobs in locations where there is significant biopharmaceutical investment. Members are all aware of the important role of that investment in the Irish economy.

According to the European Patent Office, a waiver would lead to a 37% drop in research and development for Covid-19-related products, such as vaccines and therapeutic treatments. The impact would disproportionately be felt in higher income countries where research and development activity is more likely to be concentrated.

Multilateral solutions are needed to strengthen healthcare system capacity for Covid-19 vaccine administration and to empathetically tackle vaccine hesitancy. Efforts must focus on developing economies. Two thirds of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are in middle-income countries. Lower and upper middle-income countries are home to 75% of the world’s population and 62% of the world’s poor. A collaborative effort to protect vulnerable populations against Covid-19 must involve a co-ordinated effort between industry, the global health community, governments and non-government organisations to help bridge gaps in cold chain and service delivery, insufficient workforce capacity and challenges with demand and vaccine confidence in some countries. These challenges should not be underestimated. The challenge of making and distributing pharmaceuticals is significant and complex.

Our industry is part of the effort to achieve global vaccines equity. We believe there are six ways to achieve that goal. These are to continue to surge production of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments through in-company investments in sites and voluntary on-boarding of suitable manufacturing partners; eliminate trade barriers so that the free flow of vaccines, ingredients and medical goods and supplies across borders is facilitated in the global supply chain; increase dose-sharing, with developed countries giving developing countries much more of their surplus vaccine doses faster; support country readiness, building the capacity of healthcare systems in developing countries to efficiently absorb, distribute and administer vaccine doses; combat vaccine hesitancy through education and health awareness programmes, empathetic and tailored community outreach and influencer activations in mainstream media and on social media platforms; and drive further innovation in vaccines and treatments and work with healthcare systems on planning to guard against variants of concern and future pandemics.

We cannot afford to undermine innovation. Scientists expect more zoonotic contagion in the future, making IP rights a key part of the public health response. We still have to find answers to the diseases we do not know about. Globally, there are thousands of medicines in development. Among them are cell and gene therapies to treat, prevent and potentially cure some diseases such as cancer. This is the dividend of innovation.

Covid-19 has been harrowing, causing sickness and death for so many people. According to the latest estimates, over 15 million people have died globally and there have been 13% more deaths than are normally expected over two years. However, without vaccines and later treatments, the death toll and lost economic output caused by Covid-19 would have been so much worse.

This is our industry's contribution to the world - saving lives, guarding against severe illness and maintaining economic life. We are proud of that contribution, made possible by science. Let us protect it for the health of all of us and for economic progress. I thank members for listening.