Address by the Secretary for Economic Affairs and Foreign Trade (SCAEC), Ambassador Sarquis J. B. Sarquis, at the WTO event on equity in access to vaccines - 4/14/2021

Thank you, Dr. Ngozi, for calling and organizing this meeting. On behalf of the Brazilian government, I reaffirm our commitment to work together, with a sense of urgency.

We must favor a systematic, cooperative and pragmatic approach to identifying and increasing vaccine manufacturing capacity, as well as promoting voluntary licensing agreements and the accelerated transfer of know-how, technologies and inputs. Time is a crucial factor in preventing the spread of new and potentially more lethal variants of the coronavirus.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS:

Public-private partnerships are a powerful tool for accelerating R&D and production. In Brazil, the voluntary licensing agreements signed by Fiocruz and the Butantan Institute underpin the National Immunization Program.

So far, we have produced 25 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 and we are scaling up production. The Butantan Institute and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation are going further, with the construction of new and modern facilities for the manufacture of vaccines.

In addition, Brazil is promoting investments and partnerships, including through voluntary vaccine licensing agreements and the production capacity of APIs. Our mission is to respond to domestic needs and contribute to regional and global supply.

For this reason, Brazil is also committed to the development of new vaccines, such as, for example, “Butanvac”, through a royalty-free agreement between Butantan and Mount Sinai Hospital, in NY; and “Versamune” - through a scientific network of universities and research centers set up by the Brazilian Government.

MANUFACTURING CAPACITY:

In Brazil, unused and underused facilities for the production of vaccines are being identified and offered to voluntary licensing partnerships and in international collaborations for clinical trials. These facilities - including some for the production of veterinary vaccines - can be converted and retrofitted. Such projects can be accelerated through the mobilization of technology, knowledge and financing.

INTERNATIONAL ACTION:

It is necessary to collectively improve information sharing and alert systems, with the support of WHO and the early involvement of other international organizations. Regional and multilateral development banks can play a role in financing capacity building, especially in developing countries. To be effective, the international community must adopt risk management principles to monitor, address and respond to future health crises.

Three fundamental principles must be applied: (1) excess capacity provisioning; (2) diversification of the production and distribution of vaccines, drugs, essential manufacturing supplies and APIs; and (3) rapid operational response to urgent needs.

We learned that public health infrastructure must be ahead of the curve. Governments are key players in financing and supporting demand through public health purchases.

Intellectual property rights are fundamental market incentives for innovation and must be protected in a sustainable manner. Successful public-private partnerships must become international benchmarks for promoting vaccines as universal public goods.

Brazil supports, with several developing and developed countries, the efforts of the WTO DG to promote a "thirdway" dialogue that guarantees large-scale production and timely and equitable distribution of vaccines. A coordinated international response to expand and diversify vaccine production and distribution appears to be our greatest hope for success.

Thanks!