Joint comments on proposed NIH patent license to Tailored Therapeutics for the development and commercialization of cell therapies for cancer (and the NIH’s Response)

(UPDATE: The NIH provided a response to our comments on July 11, 2019) On July 2, 2019, KEI and UACT submitted comments to the Federal Register notice 84 FR 28063, on the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development… Continue Reading

Delinkage, TRIPS flexibilities, and alternative incentive frameworks emerge as flashpoints during Human Rights Council’s discussions on Access to Medicines and Vaccines

UPDATE: On 4 July 2019, the Core Group will submit a “TABLING REV 1” version of their resolution on “Access to medicines and vaccines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard… Continue Reading

UPenn, Nationwide Children’s Hospital refuse to disclose which patents they licensed to Novartis for Zolgensma

Zolgensma, Novartis’s new $2.1 million gene therapy for children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), is a remarkable breakthrough with a steep price tag: the cost per child is $2.125 million. The treatment was developed using research funded by the National… Continue Reading

KEI Statement on Adoption of the WHA72 Transparency Resolution

Today the World Health Assembly (WHA) approved A72/A/CONF./2 Rev.1 as a resolution, titled “Improving the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines, and other health products.” Link to the resolution: http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA72/A72_ACONF2Rev1-en.pdf When the text was made available, I sent out a… Continue Reading