[New Wave] Why Vaccines, Health Security, and Public Pharmaceutical Companies Are Needed

Since ancient times, Korea has had a tradition of mutual aid through Hyangyak, Dure, and Gye, where people help each other in times of difficulty, comforting and supporting friends and relatives in hardship. This spirit of mutual aid occurs not only among individuals or villages but also between nations.

Currently, the world is experiencing an unprecedentedly difficult time due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The cumulative number of confirmed cases has surpassed 20 million, and over 730,000 people have died. The international community has pledged to cooperate mutually and to compromise national interests during this global public health crisis.

According to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) under the World Trade Organization (WTO), compulsory licensing is permitted in national emergencies or public health crises to allow the use of vaccines or treatments. Compulsory licensing refers to a restriction that forces the use of a patent without the patent holder's consent, provided that appropriate compensation is paid to the rights holder.

In the past, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States insisted on compulsory licensing for the German Bayer company's treatment 'Cipro' to combat the spread of anthrax at a high price, which eventually led Bayer to lower the price of Cipro. Recently, M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) urged compulsory licensing for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Countries such as Canada, Germany, Brazil, and Israel have also revised or enacted laws to facilitate compulsory licensing.

However, in reality, compulsory licensing is not straightforward. Since it restricts privately developed intellectual property created through large-scale investment, strict conditions must be met. Moreover, if the COVID-19 vaccine is held by pharmaceutical companies from the United States or China rather than Korean companies, the situation becomes more difficult. Even if the Korean government approves compulsory licensing, domestic pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to welcome it due to concerns about political pressure from multinational pharmaceutical companies, potential trade retaliation from those countries, and dependence on multinational pharmaceutical companies.

In the future, even if COVID-19 vaccines or treatments are developed, if Korea does not develop them domestically, it may be difficult to secure sufficient quantities to meet domestic demand, along with the problem of high prices. In 2009, during the H1N1 influenza pandemic, although the treatment Tamiflu existed, insufficient quantities were secured, causing problems.

So how should we respond to this situation? We must now approach issues of viruses and public health not only with quarantine and medical responses but also with security measures and establish a governance system. Recently, world leaders jointly pledged $8.2 billion (approximately 10 trillion KRW) to support research and development (R&D) of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments and agreed to share the outcomes among all countries.

However, the United States and China are not actively participating. Therefore, to prepare for second and third coronavirus outbreaks, it is necessary to build a long-term cooperative system and hold regular exchanges with countries and international organizations that share similar interests or goals. From a security perspective, it is also necessary to relax patent law provisions related to compulsory licensing, as Germany and Canada have done, to enable active national intervention.

Above all, to overcome the limitations of compulsory licensing faced by domestic pharmaceutical companies and to prepare for shortages of essential national medicines, a 'public pharmaceutical company' must be established. Since vaccines and treatments are essential medicines for the public, but pharmaceutical companies hesitate to produce and distribute them due to profitability concerns, a public pharmaceutical company is essential to stabilize the supply of essential medicines.

Seungwoo Son, Professor, Department of Industrial Security, Chung-Ang University