KEI Blogs and Reseach notes on COVID-19/Coronavirus

COVID-19 Gov’t Contracts: KEI has obtained numerous contracts between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies regarding COVID-19 medical technologies via the Freedom of Information act. For these and other contracts, please see: https://www.keionline.org/covid-contracts. COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing: KEI has gathered data… Continue Reading

Three areas in Section 202 of the Bayh-Dole Act that require action to ensure sufficient rights in patents on coronavirus relevant inventions

For more on KEI’s work on COVID-19, see keonline.org/coronavirus. As the US and other governments begin to expend large amounts of money on research and development related to the control, prevention and treatment of the coronavirus pandemic, there are important… Continue Reading

Unreasonable pricing and the “Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020”

For more on KEI’s work on COVID-19, see keonline.org/coronavirus. The “Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020’’ will provide welcome funding to deal with the expanding COVID-19 pandemic. The current language on affordability (this Draft text), however, is worse… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council discussions on the transparency of R&D costs and the pricing of medicines: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

In February 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) de-restricted the minutes of the TRIPS Council’s October 2019 session. While the official minutes (IP/C/M/93/Add.1) were circulated to WTO members on 9 December 2019, the October 2019 minutes were only available to… Continue Reading

KEI Comments Regarding NIH Exclusive License to TeraImmune for T Cell Therapy

(UPDATE: The NIH provided a response to our comments on February 25, 2020) On February 3, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the “Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent License: Development of Regulatory T-Cell Therapies for the Treatment of… Continue Reading

Joint comments on the NIH license to patents on CAR therapies to CJ Healthcare

Joint Comments Regarding “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development and Commercialization of CD19/CD22 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Therapies for the Treatment of B-Cell Malignancies[,]” 85 FR 328 On January 21, 2020 five groups and two individuals filed comments… Continue Reading

KEI Comments Regarding NIH Exclusive License on Gene Therapy to Treat Ocular Disease

On Friday January 10, 2020, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Gene Therapy for Ocular Disease” to OcQuila Therapeutics, Ltd. (84 FR 65169). The… Continue Reading

KEI Requests the NIH to Investigate Failure to Disclose Federal Funding in Opdivo and Keytruda Patents

On December 20, 2019, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) filed a request to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it investigate an apparent failure to disclose federal funding in patents associated with cancer immunotherapies Opdivo and Keytruda. A court case… Continue Reading