The Brazilian
Senate approved a bill on Wednesday authorizing the president to temporarily
break patents for vaccines and their ingredients in health and public
emergencies, such as the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

The bill which has
already passed in Brazil’s lower house will now go to President Jay Bolsonaro
for his assent. Obtaining that might be tricky as Bolsonaro has already spoken
out against the proposal saying that it may harm the country’s relationship
with vaccine makers.

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Bolsonaro has also
said that Brazil lacks the technical know-how to produce some of the vaccines
even if the patents are broken.

The Senate, while
approving the bill, restored some provisions of the original proposal that were
left out by the lower house. These provisions include requiring patent holders
to share information and biological material necessary to reproduce vaccines
and potential penalties if they refuse to comply.

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Discussions on
breaking vaccine patents has been doing the rounds since the first vaccines
against COVID-19 were approved. Several nations, including the United States of
America, have considered temporarily breaking vaccine patents to ensure larger
roll-out of vaccines.

Vaccine shortages
have severely hit vaccination efforts across the world and especially in
developing countries. The aim of removing patent protections is to legally
allow countries to make vaccines made by specific companies in their own
laboratories. 

If patents are
broken, they would allow laboratories around the world to produce generic versions
of vaccines thereby increasing production and also reducing costs.  

Last October, both
Brazil and India brought a proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a
temporary waiver on all products that could be useful in curbing the COVID-19
pandemic.

However, pharmaceutical
companies have opposed the breaking of patents saying that it could stifle
innovation. The head of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers and Associations had told BBC’s Today programme that technology
transfers should not be enforced and enforcing such transfers could compromise
the safety and quality of vaccines.