All 12 Zhang/Broad Institute CRISPR patents declare US funding and rights in inventions

February 15, 2017, the USPTO ruled that 12 genome-editing CRISPR-Cas9 patents and one patent application assigned to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT did not interfere with a patent application from scientists at the University of California. A copy of the ruling is available here.

Following the ruling by the USPTO that the Broad Institute and the University of California both issued statements, as did several firms with an interest in the dispute.

KEI Comments filed in 2017 USTR Special 301 Review

On February 9, 2017, KEI filed written comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s Special 301 Review process.

The Special 301 Review is an annual process carried out by the USTR to, “to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.”

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WTO Trade Policy Review: Members question the United States on compulsory licensing, Bayh-Dole, UNHLP & Section 337

In December 2016, during the twilight of President Barack Obama’s 44th presidency, the World Trade Organization (WTO) conducted a Trade Policy Review (TPR) of the United States of America. All members of the WTO are subject to review under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The TPRM takes place in the “Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council — comprising the WTO’s full membership — operating under special rules and procedures” (Source: WTO, Trade Policy Reviews: Brief Introduction).

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KEI Briefing Note 2017:1. Bayh-Dole Act and difference between March-In Rights and the world wide royalty free rights in patents

Bayh-Dole Act and difference between March-In Rights and the world wide royalty free rights in patents KEI Briefing Note 2017:1 When the United States federal government funds research that results in patents, it obtains rights, either directly or through contracts,… Continue Reading

EB140: WHO adopts decision on terms of reference for overall programme review of the GSPOA (31 Jan 2017)

On 31 January 2017 the WHO Secretariat published the “Draft decision resulting from informal consultations” on the Overall programme review of the global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property (EB140/CONF./7 Rev.1). This can be found here: http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB140/B140_CONF7Rev1-en.pdf

The chapeau to this decision notes:

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Feb 24, 2017 – U.S. History, Experiences, and Prospects of Compulsory Licensing of Medical Patents


On Friday, February 24, 2017, KEI hosted a meeting exploring compulsory licensing in the United States.

Title: History, Experiences, and Prospects of Compulsory Licensing on Medical Patents in the United States
Date: Friday February 24, 2017
Location: Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health
700 Second St. NE (near Union Station)
Washington, DC 20002

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Chilean Cámara de Diputados votes overwhelmingly to advance compulsory licensing of drug patents.

GiorgioJacksonChile.jpgThe Cámara de Diputados of the Chilean Congress voted on January 25, 2017 in favor of Resolution 798, calling on the government to implement compulsory licenses on drugs for cancer and other diseases. The vote was 67 yes, 0 no, and 32 abstentions. The resolution was put forward by Giorgio Jackson and six other members (V. Mirosevic, Miguel Alvarado, Karla Rubilar, Juan Luis Castro, Gabriel Boric, and Victor Torres). Continue Reading

EB140: Statement of India on the Report of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines

On the morning of Monday, 23 January 2017, India delivered the following intervention at the 140th session of the World Health Organization’s Executive Board requesting the “explicit inclusion” of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel Report in the “provisional agenda of the EB140 as a separate agenda item under item 8.”

In making the case for the inclusion of the UN HLP in the WHO’s Executive Board deliberations, India articulate the following:

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Spinraza: KEI asks DHHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to investigate a failure to disclose federal funding in patents

KEI has asked the DHHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate a failure to disclose federal funding of patents on nusinersen, a drug developed by Ionis Pharmaceuticals (formerly known as Isis Pharmacetuicals) with BioGen, and sold under the trade name Spinraza.

A copy of the 22 page letter to OIG is available here.

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