Countries included in the Merck/molnupiravir voluntary license with generic suppliers

(For more resources, please see our page on molnupiravir.) According to Brook Baker, these are the countries included in the Merck voluntary license to generic suppliers Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,… Continue Reading

International landscape of molnupiravir patents

(For more resources, please see our page on molnupiravir.) KEI has built a dataset of patents related to molnupiravir based upon a study by Imran et al (2021), the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) MedsPal database, and our own searches. Our… Continue Reading

KEI Comments on NIH Prospective Exclusive License to Gilead for HIV Treatment/Cure

(Update: On November 4, 2021, the NIH provided a response to our comments on the license.) On October 12, 2021, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the ““Prospective Grant of an Exclusive… Continue Reading

WIPO General Assembly 2021: General statement of Knowledge Ecology International

On Tuesday, 5 October 2021, Knowledge Ecology International delivered the following opening statement at the 2021 WIPO General Assembly. General Statement of Knowledge Ecology International – WIPO General Assembly 5 October 2021 The COVID pandemic illustrates flaws in the intellectual… Continue Reading

U.S. Government’s $1.2 Billion Contract for Merck’s Investigational COVID-19 Drug Molnupiravir Redacts IP Terms, Contains Donation Clause and Very Limited Technology Transfer License

(For more resources, please see our page on molnupiravir.) Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) has obtained a copy of the $1.2 billion contract between the U.S. government and Merck to advance purchase 1,696,629 treatment courses of molnupiravir, an investigational COVID-19 drug… Continue Reading

US government rights in patents on Molnupiravir, based upon funding of R&D at Emory University

(For more resources, please see our page on molnupiravir.) Molnupiravir, the oral pill that is showing promising results as a potential treatment for covid-19, was invented at Emory University with U.S. government funds. After more than six years of non-clinical… Continue Reading