On Friday January 10, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Gene Therapy for Ocular Disease” to OcQuila Therapeutics, Ltd. (84 FR 65169). The technology to be licensed involves an adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy that has already undergone a Phase I/II clinical trial sponsored by the NIH.
As KEI’s comments assert, given the technology’s relatively advanced research and development stage, the regulatory incentives the licensee is likely to receive, the government’s investment in the technology, and the price that OcQuila likely will be able to charge for the treatment, the NIH should negotiate a license with terms that are favorable to the public.
PDF versions of KEI’s full comments on the proposed exclusive license and accompanying attachments are available here:
- KEI Comments Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent License Gene Therapy for Ocular Disease
- Attachment A
- Attachment B
- Attachment C
(For more KEI comments on NIH licenses, see: https://www.keionline.org/nih-licenses)