Mr. Oliver O'Connor:

In response to Mr. Clarken, the industry is not using words like “devastation” nor is it raising scares and fears and all of the rest of it. We are inviting the committee to consider that a change in incentives or in intellectual property rights may cause a change in the likelihood of capital being invested to invent, create, deliver, manufacture and provide vaccines and other medicine solutions in pandemic situations. We have as evidence a study by the European Patents Office, EPO, to show that in its view and analysis there would be a diminution, and quite a serious one, in investment in this area. We work very closely in every country and in every medicine to deliver human health. If we do not deliver human health, there is no business for pharmaceutical companies. In that respect, we support and deliver human rights. There is no opposition within the pharmaceutical industry to human rights or to human health. We are not in the business of raising barriers to the delivery of healthcare solutions here in Ireland or globally, and we want to work on that.

To answer Deputy O’Reilly’s question, we are certainly not saying that everything should stay the same. There will have to be new solutions, but we invite members to consider the critical role of intellectual property rights in the discovery, development, production and delivery of the solutions we seek to massive healthcare problems at all times and to be very careful about protecting those rights. I have heard it mentioned that there is no incentive for malaria or that it is insufficient. Our principal point is that if you diminish incentives, you will diminish the results that you are seeking to achieve. That is very important.

That is our position and we hope we are being respectful and are not exaggerating, and we are certainly not threatening anyone. We want to be involved in human health. We are, I believe, and we have certainly been involved in the delivery of new solutions and in the development and delivery globally of vaccines and therapies for Covid-19.