On September 3, 2019, KEI submitted a request to the NIH that it investigate an apparent failure to disclose federal funding in patents in adeno-associated viral (AAV) gene therapies. A failure to disclose federal funding is a violation of the… Continue Reading
Day 1 of SCCR 38. There is definitely more support for the broadcasting treaty, “a momentum” said a delegate, and it is difficult to find a delegation that would oppose, at least publicly, this 20 year old effort. NGO observers… Continue Reading
PhRMA’s Special 301 submissions are part of a yearly ritual to shape the “Special 301” Report, an annual review of the global state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement, conducted by the Office of the United States Trade… Continue Reading
(UPDATE: The NIH provided a response to our comments on April 22, 2019) On February 20, 2019, KEI submitted comments to the Federal Register notice 84 FR 1764 on the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Use of the… Continue Reading
Today KEI asked the Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards (NIST) to publish a notice in the Federal Register inviting comments on their Special Publication 1234, Draft Green Paper on Return on Public Investment, with an extended deadline. The… Continue Reading
On 18 December 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a “Technical report on Pricing of cancer medicines and its impacts” (hereinafter referred to as the “WHO Cancer Report”). The mandate for the WHO Cancer Report emanates from operative paragraph… Continue Reading
In February 2016, KEI submitted a FOIA to USTR requesting “all correspondence and notes sent internally by the Office of the US Trade Representative as well as with Colombian government officials, other foreign government officials, and non-governmental persons or entities regarding efforts in the government of Colombia to issue compulsory licenses on medical technologies. Continue Reading
Knowledge Ecology International and the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment sent a letter to Secretary Tom Price of the Department of Health and Human Services, and to Secretary Jim Mattis of the Department of Defense, requesting that the Trump Administration reevaluate the January 2016 Xtandi petition that the government use its rights in patents under the Bayh Dole Act (35 U.S.C. Continue Reading
Kite Pharma, Inc., which is racing Juno Therapeutics and Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis to successfully bring the first T-cell receptor (TCR) therapy to market, relies heavily on government support in the course of its research and development.
As noted previously by KEI, in various comments to the National Institutes of Health, the NIH rarely discloses detailed information on its connections with industry, raising concerns about how the NIH licenses out taxpayer-funded technologies without regard for future prices or access for U.S. residents.
For a selected bibliography of news stories on Kite’s relationship with the National Cancer Institute, see here: /node/2644.
T-cell receptor therapy is the latest breakthrough in cancer treatment, and involves modifying a patient’s own cells to better track and destroy cancer proteins, and then reintroducing them into the body. (The NIH has a concise description for non-scientists here.)
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| Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg is the Principal Investigator for the National Cancer Institute on Kite’s 2012 CRADA. Dr. Rosenberg mentored Kite CEO and co-Founder Dr. Arie Belldegrun, and is also listed as a “Special Advisor” to Kite on their website. | Partnership for Public Service / Aaron Clamage |
According to Kite’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Kite has secured three Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In exchange for quarterly cash payments, the NCI conducts clinical trials and laboratory work on many of its own patented technologies, with the understanding that Kite will have the rights to commercialize any successful products developed through the CRADA.
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(More KEI RCEP leaks here: /rcep)
Attached below is the October 16, 2015 version of the investment chapter for the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, known as RCEP. This text is made public for the first time by KEI.