The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), a multi-stakeholder partnership to facilitate sharing of mental property (IP), data and improvements has introduced three new licensing agreements acquired via the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). The agreements embrace the next licenses to switch know-how, supplies and medical information wanted in numerous nations:     

• Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp, the primary non-public producer, is providing its patent and know-how for a COVID-19 vaccine that has seen greater than three million doses administered throughout seven nations.  It is the primary time {that a} vaccine producer is utilizing the WHO C-TAP mannequin – a win-win alternative for the producer, recipients of the expertise and, most significantly, sufferers in want all over the world. The settlement will allow licensing of IP facilitating expertise switch and employees coaching.
• Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is sharing a second license for a COVID-19 vaccine prototype. The settlement contains plant visits and coaching, direct help and ongoing session with recipient producers, together with on high quality and regulatory issues.
• The University of Chile is sharing its expertise for a COVID-19 assay for quantification of neutralizing antibodies.

 C-TAP was launched in May 2020 by the WHO and the Government of Costa Rica with the help of 44 Member States, UN Development Programme, Unitaid, UNAIDS, and implementing companions corresponding to MPP.  It works underneath the ideas of the Solidarity call to action and was designed to function a platform for builders of COVID-19 therapeutics, diagnostics, vaccines and different well being merchandise to voluntarily share their mental property, data, and information to speed up technological innovation and broaden international manufacturing capability.

 C-TAP was acknowledged as an necessary device  within the 2021 “ Local Production Resolution”  to facilitate sustainable entry to quality-assured, secure, efficient and inexpensive medicines and different well being applied sciences. Furthermore, it has performed an necessary function in elevating consciousness of the function of expertise and data sharing and access-oriented voluntary licensing.  

“COVID-19 is here to stay, and the world will continue to need tools to prevent it, test for it and treat it,” mentioned Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Through C-TAP, WHO and our partners are committed to making those tools accessible to everyone, everywhere. I am grateful to the leadership shown by those license holders who have contributed technology.”

Charles Gore, Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool mentioned: “Access to essential medicines and health technologies needs to remain a top priority on the global health agenda. We congratulate Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp, CSIC and the University of Chile for licensing their products to MPP and hope it will send an important message to other originators around the world to enter into further licence agreements under the auspices of C-TAP.” 

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic solely two public well being R&D Institutes — the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the US National Institute of Health (NIH) determined to share their key COVID-19 applied sciences with C-TAP. 

Addition of the three new licenses now offers an necessary increase to the general effort. The new licenses are international, clear and non-exclusive to all producers and are accessible on the C-TAP website. Importantly, the primary license, on a serological check, resulted in a sub license to Biotech Africa from CSIC to develop their diagnostic expertise.

C-TAP has additionally established a Technology Access Pool database that gives a searchable repository. With a precept of transparency, this publicly out there database will help coordination and can hyperlink to different information sharing platforms the place medical, regulatory, patent, and producers information is on the market for chosen applied sciences.  WHO is making ready to share findings of the overview of C-TAP and a proposed mannequin for an advanced expertise entry pool. Stakeholders can have a chance to offer feedback on an idea paper together with the method and timelines for its implementation.

Quotes from the organizations signing new C-TAP licenses 

• Charles Chen, CEO of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. said, “We believe that the most effective response to a pandemic must be rooted in solidarity, cooperation, and collective global effort. By joining the C-TAP initiative, we are providing equitable access to our vaccine technology. It underscores our commitment to ensure that vaccines reach all corners of the globe, leaving no one behind. This is not just about COVID-19, it is about setting a precedent for future global health challenges. By demonstrating our commitment to open science and cooperative strategies. We hope to inspire other organizations to follow suit. To all those that trusted, participated, collaborated, and supported us, thank you! For without you, we could not make this C-TAP initiative possible.”
• University of Chile Rector, Professor Dr. Rosa Devés Alessandri, said, “For the University of Chile, the achievement of our scientists, is a source of pride and an encouragement for the advancement of biomedical research in our country. It shows how excellent research carried out internationally has the capacity to offer solutions with a high social impact in the field of health. We thank all the organisations that have made it possible for the University of Chile to contribute to global health”.
• Eloisa del Pino, President of CSIC mentioned ‘This licensing settlement with C-TAP opens the potential of discovering companions in third nations to advance medical trials with this vaccine as a future various to licensed COVID vaccine choices worldwide, particularly in resource-poor nations.”

About C-TAP  

C-TAP was launched in 2020 by the WHO Director-General and the President of Costa Rica, and supported by 44 Member States, to facilitate well timed, equitable and inexpensive entry to COVID-19 well being merchandise via clear, public well being oriented, non-exclusive and broad licensing agreements.

WHO technical groups help by offering evaluation of applied sciences to expertise givers and receivers. This contains the just lately launched WHO-Unitaid  briefing document to help easy methods to navigate interfaces between public well being and mental property. 

About MPP  

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public well being organisation working to extend entry to and facilitate the event of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income nations. Through its progressive enterprise mannequin, MPP companions with civil society, governments, worldwide organisations, trade, affected person teams, and different stakeholders to prioritise and license wanted medicines and pool mental property to encourage generic manufacture and the event of recent formulations.