Pfizer, J&J Balk at Calls to Loosen Grip on Covid Vaccine Rights

Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson officials on Thursday hailed intellectual property as a major bolster for Covid-19 vaccine distribution, balking at calls from the global community to waive patent rights for broader immunization.

“The IP system is critical in ensuring that these various technologies on different platforms all can be leveraged to create a portfolio of Covid-19 vaccines to be deployed all over the world,” Bryan Zielinski, chief patent counsel at Pfizer, said during a webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The remarks come after government officials, financiers, and drugmakers from around the world ...