On May 20, 2026, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute (NCI) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development and Commercialization of Engineered Cell Therapies for the Treatment of Cancer” (91 FR 24551) to OncoVanta Therapeutics, Inc.
OncoVanta’s website includes this remark describing the role of Emmanuel O. Akala, who is listed as Vice President, Drug Delivery & Nanomedicine: “At OncoVanta Therapeutics, he advises on long-term delivery innovation strategies and future platform expansion opportunities that may strengthen therapeutic performance while remaining independent of NIH-licensed intellectual property.”
Dr. Akala has been listed as Principal Investigator for over $2.5 million in federal grants, of that $700,000 since 2022.
It is curious that while engaging with NCI to license this technology, the company explicitly states that they are being advised on “remaining independent of NIH-licensed intellectual property.” It would not be a stretch to assume that a company seeking to be unencumbered by NIH-licensed IP would likely be seeking to negotiate an agreement that would include terms that would not obligate them to many public interest safeguards or access-ensuring terms.
KEI urged the NIH to ensure that any license agreement includes safeguards to protect the public interest in access and affordability.
As the NIH Intramural Research Program Access Planning Policy came into force on October 1, 2025, in our comments KEI urged the NIH to assess the access plans submitted by companies for how well they will facilitate access to any resultant product, and ensure it’s not a pro forma submission along the way to executing the license. KEI suggested the inclusion of access promoting terms such as licensing to the WHO or Medicines Patent Pool, as well as disclosing steps that the company will take to enable the timely registration and availability of the medical technology at an affordable price in the United States and in every country with a demonstrated need.
KEI’s full comments are available here: KEI-Comments-NIH-License-OncoVanta-20May2026