Bishop recommends ‘Battle of Britain’ approach for Irish pharma

Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin Diocese likened tackling the pandemic to the “Battle of Britain” and questioned if Irish pharmaceutical companies could make use of production facilities to stimulate vaccine production.

Bishop Doran said that ”every expert here is saying that all of this depends on the availability of supply” and that production could be focused on this, similar to manufacturing during the Battle of Britain in WWII.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Bishop Doran highlighted that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) provides that countries are authorised without the consent of the patent holder to manufacture essential medicines for their own domestic use and for the uses of countries not able to provide it for themselves.

”I’m aware that the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland is fairly strong as an element of the economy,” Bishop Doran said. “It struck me that it was something we could do as a service to developing countries and countries not able to produce or buy vaccines for themselves.

“Wouldn’t it be great if, given the substantial capacity we have in Ireland, it might be possible to identify one or more plants that could be utilised for this purpose – to serve the common good of humanity.”