WTO Wades Into Vaccine Feud as Merkel, Pharma Balk at Biden Plan

The pharmaceutical companies hate it. The Biden administration is embracing it. Now, finding common ground for wider distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in poorer countries falls to the World Trade Organization -- a body known more for its inability to do international deals than to clinch them.

Drug companies have a powerful ally in Germany, along with other nations, opposing a waiver of rules protecting the intellectual property behind the vaccines. When the U.S. backed that waiver, it sent shares of American and European vaccine makers tumbling on Wednesday.

Read More: U.S. Vaccine Patent Surprise Roils Pharma as WTO Debate Heats ...