AAM calls for increased voluntary licensing of COVID vaccines to increase patient access

The  Association for Accessible Medicines and its member companies are calling for increased patient access to COVID-19 vaccines. AAM said it and its members have worked to enhance patient access to affordable treatments throughout pandemic, including manufacturing dexamethasone, which is estimated to have saved more than 1 million lives worldwide, and producing vaccines and other therapeutics under voluntary licensing agreements. 

“The public health emergency and continued global threat of COVID-19, however, necessitates that more should be done to increase patient access to vaccines," the organization said in a statement. “While the U.S. recently achieved a vaccination rate of 70%, much of the developing world is not expected to obtain needed quantities of vaccines for several years. And one of the lessons learned so far in the fight against COVID-19 is that an outbreak in one region can quickly spread to the next, allowing the virus to further evolve and continue to impact all of our lives.”

AAM underscored its readiness to further partner in the global effort to defeat COVID-19 through the use of additional voluntary licensing agreements between patent holders and AAM members and other manufacturers.

“Such cooperative agreements have already aided the global response to COVID-19 and expanded access to critical medicines. More must be done to ensure patients around the world have access to vaccines. Generic and biosimilar manufacturers in the U.S. and around the world have the expertise and ability to quickly and safely increase the global supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Accelerating patient access to these innovative treatments around the world will accelerate the end of this global pandemic. We are ready to do our part,” AAM said.