Big Pharma Reveals Its True Capitalist Colours

News:

The US biotech company Moderna is alleging that mRNA technology it developed before the Covid-19 pandemic was copied, hence it is suing Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement.

"We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the Covid-19 pandemic," Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said.

Moderna, which was only formed as a company in 2010, was an early developer of the mRNA technology used commercially for the first time in Covid vaccines.

Early in the pandemic, Moderna said it would not enforce its patents to help other drug companies develop their own jabs, particularly for low- and middle-income countries.

In March 2022 it said rivals such as Pfizer and BioNTech would have to respect its intellectual property rights in some higher-income countries, though it would not claim damages for activity before that date.

Moderna’s Covid vaccine – its lone commercial product – has brought in $10.4bn in revenue this year while Pfizer’s vaccine brought in about $22bn.

Patent disputes often take place when new technology is developed and both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are already facing other lawsuits relating to their respective mRNA platforms.

Moderna itself is in an ongoing dispute with the US National Institutes of Health over the credit for key patents relating to mRNA technology.

In July, German biotech company CureVac filed a lawsuit against BioNTech claiming it violated patents linked to the engineering of certain mRNA molecules and seeking "fair compensation". (Source: BBC)

Comment:

The image portrayed by Western governments and pharmaceutical corporations at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic was one of humanity unifying to defeat the virus. We were told that differences were being put aside so that we can all work together.

Despite the overt message that “we care about your health”, capitalism’s ugly reality could not be concealed for long. The contradictions were apparent early on and have become more obvious as the global state of panic has largely diminished and life returns to “business as usual”.

Intellectual Property enforcement is a major impediment to the affordability and availability of vital medicine across the world. Small manufacturers cannot afford the legal expenses required to take on the large pharmaceutical corporations, so there is an effective monopoly. People obviously suffer as drugs are unaffordable, but such people are not visible enough to affect public opinion, so they do not matter.

Capitalism has no inherent moral or humanitarian values. Expediency and profit are the only values that it recognises. As such the capitalist system stands at odds with most people on earth, even those who have grown up within its societies. Fanatical adherents to the secular ideology within large corporations and government often feel the need to feign concern for peoples' wellbeing, so that their brand is more marketable among less fanatical ordinary citizens.

The fact that there was a “kind” offer from one pharmaceutical company not to sue others during the pandemic is not evidence of a caring concern for humanity. Rather, the continued enforcement of intellectual property laws is evidence of the opposite.

In a capitalist world “care” is merely a marketable image subservient to the benefit that can be accrued from its adoption.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Yahya Nisbet
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain