The WHO (World Health Organization) revoked the Public Health Emergency of International Concern or PHEIC status for COVID-19 on May 5, 2023. Indonesia will also revoke this emergency status shortly, marked by the loosening of the rules for using masks in public places. COVID-19 has become a human tragedy in the last three years, in which 15 million people died, and vaccines and physical distancing are the leading solutions.
Vaccines that must be produced quickly are the main focus of medical companies in innovating. Technologies and innovations made by researchers and medical companies can be classified in the Intellectual Property category of Patents. Throughout 2020-2022, the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) received 7,758 applications for patent registration, with 1,298 related to vaccine technology, 4,787 for therapeutic (antibodies/immunity), and the remainder for other innovations associated with COVID-19.
Domination of China & the United States
Furthermore, WIPO also describes the countries with the highest patent filings, where China and the United States dominate, both in the Vaccine and Therapeutics categories. For the vaccine category, China filed 573 registrations, the United States 356 registrations, and Germany and the Republic of Korea with 57 and 56 registrations, respectively. As for the Therapeutics category, China & the US-dominated, followed by the Republic of Korea and India with 229 and 195 registrations.
Then, when viewed by the sector that submitted it, WIPO explained that companies submitted half of the vaccine and therapeutic patents related to COVID-19. After that, it was followed by Research Organizations, around 40% for both categories, Independent Inventors for vaccines, around 6%, and therapeutics, around 13%.
Given the sudden and rapid spread of the COVID-19 disaster, it is unsurprising that almost ¼ of these patent applications are registered by the collaboration of several parties at once. Awareness of the importance of collaborating between medical companies, universities, and research organizations is reflected in the WIPO report on patents produced related to COVID-19.
Indonesian Contribution
Of the many patent applications related to vaccines, Indonesia has also involved two of its scientists, Carina Citra Dewi Joe and Indra Rudiansyah. In 2020, they joined the Jenner Institute, Oxford University, led by Sarah Gilbert, in developing the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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