On October 17, 2017, KEI sent a letter to the NIH regarding the failure of the University of Pennsylvania to disclose federal funding of five patented inventions for CAR T.
Today (October 18, 2017), we received this statement from the University:
“We have reviewed the letter and have confirmed that each of these patents was reported to the government as having NIH funding.
There is an update on this issue, here: /node/2882, noting that the University filed a correction to each of the five patents, reporting federal funding of the inventions.
On October 13, 2017, KEI submitted comments to the WHO regarding the Draft Concept Note towards the WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work. The Draft Concept Note is available here: http://www.who.int/about/draft-concept-note_13th-programme-work.pdf
The text of KEI’s comments follow below, and a PDF is available here.
Friday, 13 October 2017
Dear Dr. Tedros,
KEI Recommendations on the work of the SCCR on a treaty for broadcasting organizations
Prepared for WIPO General Assembly
October 4, 2017
KEI recommends taking the broadcasting treaty off the agenda of the SCCR, until (1) the proponents of the treaty can explain what they expect the treaty will do, in practical terms, (2) how the treaty will impact copyright owners and persons who want access to information distributed by broadcasters, and (3) if there is a realistic expectation of agreement on the substance of the treaty.
Attached is a letter sent on September 14, 2017 to Andrew Bremberg, an Assistant to the President and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, and Keagan Lenihan, a Senior Adviser to HHS Secretary Tom Price, regarding Zinbrytra (INN: daclizumab), a drug to approved by the FDA to treat multiple sclerosis. (PDF version here)
Yesterday, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer expressing strong concerns regarding the proposed exclusive license of a federally-funded Zika vaccine to Sanofi, stating that, “If the Army chooses to move forward with its plan to provide Sanofi Pasteur an exclusive license to sell this vaccine, it must first obtain assurances that the vaccine will be affordable to all who need it.” Senator Nelson is a senior member of the Committee on the Armed Services.
On June 6, 2017, Knowledge Ecology International wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) asking the Department to adopt a policy on the licensing of federally-funded CRISPR patented inventions. (Copy here).
(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) On June 5, 2017, KEI provided comments to the NIH/NCI, on a prospective grant of an exclusive license to PathoVax, relating to HPV vaccines. On July 10,… Continue Reading
(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) This was our comment on the license. See below for the June 8, 2017 NIH response, rejecting our requests for changes to the license to address pricing… Continue Reading
(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) On May 31, 2017, we sent the following comment to the NIH regarding the proposed exclusive license on certain patents for cancer treatment to GeneXion Oncology. May 31,… Continue Reading