41 Canadian Experts Request Amendment to Schedule 1 of the Patent Act to include COVID-19 vaccines

On April 27th, a letter signed by 41 Canadian experts was sent to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of Innovation, Science & Industry, and the Minister of Health. The letter requests the amendment of Schedule 1 of the… Continue Reading

COVID-related Needle and Syringe Contracts

United States of America Becton Dickinson and Company- needle production. DoD/ASPR/BARDA-Becton Dickinson Contract W911SR2030001. July 1, 2020. (Version obtained via FOIA lawsuit in March 2021) DoD/ASPR/BARDA-Becton Dickinson Contract W911SR2030001. July 1, 2020. (Version obtained via HHS Reading Room in October… Continue Reading

KEI Comments Regarding NIH Exclusive License to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

(Update: The NIH provided a response to our comments on April 15, 2021.) Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments on April 14, 2021 to the Federal Register notice for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) “Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent… Continue Reading

KEI Comments on NIH Proposed Exclusive License to Iovance for Cancer Cell Therapy

On Friday March 12, 2021, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Engineered Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes for Cancer Therapy” (86 FR 11548). The technology is… Continue Reading

NIST Proposed Revisions to Bayh-Dole Act Regulations

New: Biden White House Executive Order opposes change in Bayh-Dole March-In regulations. (KEI has an email list to discuss this issue here: http://lists.keionline.org/mailman/listinfo/bayh-dole-regulations_lists.keionline.org) The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published on January 4, 2021, a… Continue Reading

Incoming WTO Director-General calls for ‘third way’ towards scaling up manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines

On Monday, 15 February 2021, the World Trade Organization’s General Council, “agreed by consensus to select Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria as the organization’s seventh Director-General” (Source: History is made: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala chosen as Director-General, 15 February 2021). Dr Ngozi is… Continue Reading

KEI Comments on NIH Exclusive License to Canadian Firm EpifiZa

On Tuesday February 9, 2021, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Development and Commercialization of Certain Fusion Proteins and Their Use for the Treatment… Continue Reading