Patenting Immunity? Vaccines and Public Health

The pivotal role intellectual property plays in the development and distribution of healthcare, pharmaceutical therapies, and vaccines was thrown into stark relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the exact nature of what this role is and how it should best be managed remains hotly contested resulting in a widespread call to modify international intellectual property laws. At the heart of these calls is tension in how to re-balance the need to encourage timely innovation of new therapies, while at the same time ensuring equitable access to vaccines – something that is particularly significant during a public health crisis. Despite this, most of these discussions, to date, have proven largely unsuccessful in stimulating any real change. Join us for a panel discussion attempting to move beyond unsuccessful debates that pit innovation against equitable access to medicine. In doing so, speakers will draw on their own experiences in relation to re-thinking vaccine creation, production, and distribution. They will also consider what is needed to revise intellectual property to support the creation and delivery of new therapies, both in times of crisis and times of calm. 

Speakers: 

• Paul Barclay (Chair), Walkley Award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster 
• Antony Taubman, Director, Intellectual Property Division of the World Trade Organization 
• Professor Ian Frazer, Emeritus Professor, University of Queensland & Chair, TRI Foundation Board 
• Dr Hyo Yoon Kang, Reader in Law, Warwick Law School, University of Warwick, UK 
• Dr Tolulope Adekola, Research Fellow, TC Beirne School of Law & Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland 

This event is organised through the IP Biosciences Research Cluster in the TC Beirne School of Law and the Centre for Policy Futures at The University of Queensland.