Strengthening information transparency on patents and intellectual property related to mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub was established in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, against the background of the vaccine inequity, reflected in the differences in production and supply, with companies prioritizing high-income countries (HIC) while leaving low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) without any or with limited access to the vaccines. While international initiatives aimed at addressing these issues, such as COVAX Facility for vaccine distribution and COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) for technology sharing, the inequity on health technologies has also shown the negative effect of LMIC lacking manufacturing capacity to respond the pandemic. The present report provides a patent landscape on mRNA and lipid nanoparticles (LNP) in Latin America and the Caribbean countries and presents an in-depth analysis of patent applications filed in Argentina and Brazil, where the two Programme’s partners in the region are based.