On Friday April 17, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: The Development of Bispecific Antibodies Targeting Glypican 1 (GPC1) for the Treatment of GPC1-Expressing Human Cancer” to NeoImmune Tech, Inc. (85 FR 18579). The technology to be licensed involves a potential therapy for “several cancer types with few treatment options – including uterine cervical cancer and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.” NeoImmune’s main product is a T cell amplifier that the company is exploring combining use with other compounds to treat a variety of types of cancers.
In addition to objecting to the exclusive license, KEI has stated that if the NIH proceeds with the license it should incorporate a series of provisions designed to safeguard the public interest in the invention and promote the policy objectives of the Public Health Service (PHS) Technology Transfer Manual.
A copy of KEI’s full comments regarding the exclusive license are available here (PDF updated April 28, 2020): KEI_UACT_Comments_Exclusive_License_NeoImmune_17April2020
(For more KEI comments on NIH licenses, see: https://www.keionline.org/nih-licenses)