8 December 2022 - - US-based non-profit organization AIDS Healthcare Foundation is disappointed that the US Trade Representative has put the brakes on the international negotiations that sought to expand access to COVID-19 diagnostics and treatments by lifting patent protections in developing countries, the group said.

The World Trade Organization was set to decide on the patent waiver by Dec. 17, but now the USTR says the US government will not back the initiative until it has time to study its impact.

The announcement comes after the US backed a similar proposal in June covering COVID-19 vaccine know-how.

AHF has strongly supported the emergency waiver of patents on COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics through its Vaccinate Our World campaign since India and South Africa first introduced the idea at the World Trade Organization in 2020.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.6m people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe.