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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are other COVID-19 vaccine makers following Moderna’s example and waiving patent rights?

Thursday, February 11, 2021

By Gus Fisher

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Moderna Inc. is the only manufacturer of an approved COVID-19 vaccine that has publicly committed to not enforcing its vaccine patents. The company, which received $955 million in U.S. government funding to develop its vaccine, says it will waive enforcement rights and license its intellectual property “upon request” in order to help end the pandemic “as quickly as possible.”

Pfizer, co-developer of the other vaccine available in the U.S., has said that it can’t commit to a “one-size-fits-all model” of patent sharing. Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, have so far enlisted at least two other European drug makers, Novartis and Sanofi, to help meet strong global demand.

AstraZeneca, which developed its COVID-19 vaccine with Oxford University, has outlined plans to distribute 2 billion doses of its vaccine through various partners including the Serum Institute of India.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Moderna Moderna: Statement on intellectual property matters during the COVID-19 pandemic

MSF Access Campaign: Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can only be scaled up globally if many more suppliers can produce

The Lancet The Lancet: South Africa and India push for COVID-19 patents ban

Fierce Pharma: Novartis pitches in to help produce Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Stat: AstraZeneca lays out plan for producing 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine, if it works

AstraZeneca: Serum Institute of India obtains emergency use authorization in India

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.