G20 Countries Water Down US Push For COVID-19 IP Waiver: Reuters

G20, a global forum representing the world’s largest economies, has come forward supporting “voluntary licensing” of COVID-19 vaccine patents, the draft conclusions of a summit shows.
The leaders have stressed “voluntary licensing, technology and knowledge transfer, and patent-pooling” in their conclusion in a draft document seen by Reuters.
The draft, which is still subject to changes, results from a compromise among experts from G20 nations that remain divided over the waiving of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines.
Under a patent pool, drugmakers decide voluntarily to share licenses to manufacture their products in poorer nations.
As a step to boost manufacturing and ease supply constraints, the Biden administration came out in favor of a proposal to suspend intellectual property protections for shots. The news pressured shares of COVID-19 vaccine developers.