The pharmaceutical industry has expressed mixed feelings about the White House's May 5 decision to back waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines. During a May 6 earnings call, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said he "didn't lose a minute of sleep" over it, according to a transcription provided by The Motley Fool.
The World Trade Organization is currently discussing a waiver for COVID-19 vaccine patent protections. If approved, countries could recreate vaccines without worrying about sanctions.
Mr. Bancel said waiving COVID-19 patent protections "doesn't change anything for Moderna," as its vaccine uses mRNA technology.
"There is no mRNA in manufacturing capacity in the world," Mr. Bancel said. "This is a new technology. You cannot go hire people who know how to make the mRNA. Those people don't exist."
Moderna has not been particularly protective when it comes to sharing its COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property. In October, the drugmaker said it would not enforce the vaccine's patent rights while the pandemic continues, adding it is also willing to license the vaccine's intellectual property to others after the pandemic.