Chilean lawmakers support compulsory licensing for coronavirus medicines and vaccines
Concerned about access to treatments for the fast-spreading coronavirus, Chile’s lower house of Congress passed nearly unanimously a resolution that would permit the government to issue compulsory licenses for any medicines, vaccines, or diagnostics for combating the pandemic.
The resolution supported by the Chamber of Deputies would also have the Chilean health ministry ask the World Health Organization to collect information on R&D costs directly associated with products used for preventing, detecting, and treating COVID19, including public and private investments. The vote, by the way, was 127 in support, but none against, with eight abstentions (see English translation here).
