(Update: The NIH provided a response on June 23, 2021.)
On June 2, 2021, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) filed comments with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development, Commercialization, and Use of Protein-Based Vaccines Expressing Recombinant Measles and Mumps Immunogens for Human Use To Prevent Measles and/or Mumps Infections, Disease, and Transmission” (86 FR 26927). The technology is to be licensed to Mevox, Ltd., a firm based in Rugby, UK.
The scope of the exclusive license is to be worldwide, and the field of use is for the “[d]evelopment, commercialization, and use of protein-based vaccines expressing recombinant measles and mumps immunogens for human use to prevent measles and/or mumps infections, disease, and transmission.”
A PDF of KEI’s comments is available here, and a copy follows below:
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009
www.keionline.org
June 2, 2021
Daniel Lee, J.D.,
Technology Transfer and Patent Specialist,
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office
Via daniel.lee5@nih.gov
Re: Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development, Commercialization, and Use of Protein-Based Vaccines Expressing Recombinant Measles and Mumps Immunogens for Human Use To Prevent Measles and/or Mumps Infections, Disease, and Transmission to Mevox, Ltd., located in Rugby, United Kingdom.
Dear Daniel Lee,
- The NIH should ensure that any license to Mevox, Ltd., located in Rugby, United Kingdom for vaccine patents includes sufficient protections to prevent U.S. residents from paying more than residents in other high income countries.
- The NIH should propose that the exclusive rights in the license only apply to countries with a per capita income at least 30 percent of the United States, and that the United States market be licensed on a non-exclusive basis.
- The NIH should require the licensee to provide transfer of manufacturing know-how and access to relevant biologic resources, to any firm designed by the United States.
- Any license should have provisions to address the public interest in having the vaccine be affordable and available in any licensed country.
- The license should have provisions to provide information to the public on the costs of developing the vaccine, including the costs of each clinical trial, and any public subsidies, as well as annual data on sales by country or region.
Sincerely,
James Love
james.love@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International