Brazil Senate votes to suspend patent protection on COVID-19 vaccines


FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a "Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Senate on Thursday approved a bill to suspend patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines, tests and medications during the pandemic, sending the proposal to the lower house of Congress for consideration and possible amendments.

It remains unclear if lower house lawmakers will pass the bill, with implications for pharmaceutical firms such as AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac Biotech, which have arranged local production of their COVID-19 vaccines.

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