Italy undertakes bold measures on transparency by adopting the Pricing and Reimbursement Decree

On Friday, 24 July 2020, Italy officially published the long-anticipated Pricing and Reimbursement Decree in the Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana setting in motion Italy’s place as the first country to implement the WHO transparency resolution (WHA72.8). In statement before… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council (July 2020): The European Union’s position on the interface of IP and health technologies in the COVID-19 response

On 30 July 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) convened a formal meeting of the TRIPS Council. The TRIPS Council held discussions on two COVID-19 related topics: agenda item 3 on IP Measures in the Context of COVID-19 and agenda… Continue Reading

KEI and Public Citizen request BARDA to address Moderna’s noncompliance with COVID-19 vaccine contract term

(More on Moderna here: https://www.keionline.org/moderna) On July 31, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International and Public Citizen sent Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) a letter asking BARDA to enforce a term of Moderna’s billion dollar contract with BARDA to develop… Continue Reading

Joint letter to Dr. Fauci at NIAID, regarding the geographic scope of RNAceuticals HIV patent license, asks that exclusivity not extend to countries with low and moderate incomes

Below is a letter from several individuals and groups, asking that NIAID not grant exclusive rights in a HIV patent license for South Africa, India and other low income countries. (PDF version here) The license is to RNAceuticals, a firm… Continue Reading

KEI Comments Regarding NIH Exclusive License to RNAceuticals for Anti-HIV Antibodies

On July 27, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent Commercialization License: N6, a Novel, Broad, Highly Potent HIV-Specific Antibody and a Broadly Neutralizing Human Anti-HIV… Continue Reading

KEI Comments Regarding NIH Exclusive License to Paz Pharmaceuticals for Cancer Treatment

On July 7, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the Federal Register notice for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development and Commercialization of Fenoterol and Certain Fenoterol Analogues for the… Continue Reading

Joint Comments Regarding NIH Exclusive License to Ziopharm Oncology for Cell Therapy

(Update: The NIH provided a response to our comments on July 16, 2020) On July 6, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International and the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment submitted joint comments regarding the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) proposed exclusive license… Continue Reading

KEI receives seven new contracts for COVID 19 research from BARDA and DOD, including five using “Other Transactions Authority” that weaken or eliminate Bayh-Dole and FAR Safeguards

KEI has a number of outstanding requests under the United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for contracts related to biomedical innovations to control or treat the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, June 25, and Friday, June 26, we received a… Continue Reading