Unredacted Pfizer contract with Dominican Republic, shows broad indemnity provisions for COVID-19 vaccine sales

On March 1, 2021, KEI obtained a copy of the binding term sheet between Pfizer/BioNTech and the Dominican Republic for the supply of their COVID-19 vaccine in the country. The document, requested via the freedom of information law in the… Continue Reading

KEI Letter to New WTO Director-General on COVID-19 Response

On March 1, 2021, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) sent a letter to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the WTO’s COVID-19 response. In the letter, KEI urged Dr. Ngozi to fully step into… Continue Reading

NIST Proposed Revisions to Bayh-Dole Act Regulations

New: Biden White House Executive Order opposes change in Bayh-Dole March-In regulations. (KEI has an email list to discuss this issue here: http://lists.keionline.org/mailman/listinfo/bayh-dole-regulations_lists.keionline.org) The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published on January 4, 2021, a… Continue Reading

Manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines typically start delivering in under six months after tech transfer

Based on press releases and additional publicly-available information, KEI is building a dataset with a non-exhaustive list of deals that involve technology transfer and outsourcing of COVID-19 vaccines manufacturing. As of February 19, 2021, the dataset includes observations for over… Continue Reading

Incoming WTO Director-General calls for ‘third way’ towards scaling up manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines

On Monday, 15 February 2021, the World Trade Organization’s General Council, “agreed by consensus to select Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria as the organization’s seventh Director-General” (Source: History is made: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala chosen as Director-General, 15 February 2021). Dr Ngozi is… Continue Reading

KEI Comments to NIH Proposed Exclusive License to Ziopharm for Cell Therapy Cancer Treatment

On February 9, 2021, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development and Commercialization of Cell Therapies for Cancer” to Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (Ziopharm). The… Continue Reading

KEI Comments on NIH Exclusive License to Canadian Firm EpifiZa

On Tuesday February 9, 2021, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development and Commercialization of Certain Fusion Proteins and Their Use for the Treatment… Continue Reading