On September 1st, 2020, the Secretary of International Relations from the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies initiated a debate with representatives of countries that are developing medicines and vaccines against COVID-19, aiming to change Brazilian legislation to facilitate the compulsory licensing of patents in situations of public interest or national emergency. Bill No. 1462/2020 is at the heart of the discussions, as it provides for automatic licensing under these circumstances.
The Brazilian government demonstrated its interest in discussing this matter with the representatives of United States’, China’s, United Kingdom’s and Russia’s embassies, as well as with the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Brazil. The Chinese government has declared that it aims at manufacturing a vaccine that will be an international public asset, despite some Chinese companies stating their explicit intention of profit.
More information can be obtained at https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/689119-camara-comeca-a-debater-quebra-de-patente-de-vacinas-contra-a-covid-19/.