Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗), the manufacturer of the only domestically-made COVID-19 vaccine that has received emergency use authorization in Taiwan, yesterday announced its out-licensing agreement with the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) hosted by WHO and the UN-backed Medicine Patent Pool (MPP), which would make the vaccine technology available worldwide to people in need.
Through C-TAP initiative, Medigen will share its COVID-19 vaccine, technology and training in a license that is global, transparent and non-exclusive to manufacturers worldwide, the company said in a statement.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
Medigen CEO Charles Chen (陳燦堅) said the company aims to provide equitable access to its vaccine technology to ensure that no one is left behind in the battle against COVID-19.
"This is not just about COVID-19, it’s about setting up a precedent for future global health challenges. By demonstrating our commitment to open science and cooperative strategies, we hope to inspire other organizations to follow suit," Chen said.
This is the first time that a vaccine manufacturer will use C-TAP to offer its patent and know-how for a COVID-19 vaccine, the WHO said in a separate statement. Medigen's COVID-19 vaccine has been used in more than 3 million administrations across seven countries, it said.
In addition to Medigen, the WHO said that C-TAP has also entered into partnership with the Spanish National Research Council and the University of Chile to transfer know-how, materials and clinical data on COVID-19 technology.
C-TAP was launched in 2020 by the WHO director-general and the president of Costa Rica with the goal of facilitating timely and affordable access to COVID-19 health products, according to the WHO, which added that it is supported by 45 member states.
Based in Hsinchu County, Medigen is a biopharmaceutical company that uses cell-based technologies for the development of vaccines and biosimilars. It developed and manufactured the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in the country with emergency use approval granted in 2021.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well