The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)’s patents and licences database MedsPaL is a free resource that provides information on the intellectual property status of the following key health technologies and products:
Medicines: Patented medicines on the Model lists of Essential Medicines of the World Health Organisation (WHO EML) and medicines prioritised for MPP licensing across all disease areas as well as data on patented medicines recommended by WHO for the treatment of COVID-19 in LMICs;
Vaccines: patent information on COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, which will evolve over time to cover other key patented vaccines;
Technologies: Long-acting technologies selected by MPP in the context of LAPaL, the Long-Acting technologies patents and licences database, another free online resource coordinated by MPP.
MedsPaL was launched in October 2016 focusing on medicines for three diseases: HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis. In December 2017, it was expanded to cover all patented medicines on the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines (WHO EML). In March 2020, it was expanded further to provide patent information on treatments currently being tested for COVID-19. An improved user interface was released in May 2024 including selected COVID-19 vaccines and long-acting platform technologies. Other vaccines and technologies will be added in the future.
In May 2024, the database contained searchable information on 188 health products covering a total of 204 countries. Patent information included a total of 26,929 national patent applications and 614 international applications:
We also collaborate with national and regional patent offices, to collect information for the database. See more
Access the MedsPaL Release Notes published in May 2024 when a new version of MedsPaL was launched.
What partners say about MedsPaL:
The World Health Organization supports initiatives that improve the transparency and accessibility of health-related intellectual property information. The updates to MedsPaL align with our goal to ensure that essential medical innovations are accessible to those who need them most, especially in LMICs.
Dr Yukiko Nakatani, Assistant Director-General, Access to Medicines and Health Products, the World Health Organization
May 2024
When UNDP Ukraine starts its medicines procurement process, we need as much as information as possible on patent status. For this, we use different sources, government of course but also international, MedsPaL is one of those sources that we consult from.
Dorin Rotaru, Health Programme Manager, UNDP, Ukraine
October 2016
We are regular users of MedsPaL and the launch of its updated platform is a welcome development for procurement agencies. It offers practical enhancements that will aid in the effective management of our medicine sourcing and supply chains. The ability to save searches and receive notifications, in particular, ensures that we are up to date with the latest patent information, which is vital for our procurement strategies.
Harm Veerkamp, Director, Procurement Services, IDA Foundation
May 2024
When working to increase access to medicines, it is very important to understand patent status in country and any barriers to access. Communities are instrumental in advocating for the reduction of prices for HIV, TB and HCV medicines. In that sense MPP database on patents, MedsPaL, and its effort to increase transparency of patent information is instrumental to community groups working with TRIPS flexibilities.
Sergiy Kondratyuk, Project Manager, ITPC Global
January 2020
Disclaimer:
Users should NOT consider MedsPaL a complete and authoritative source of patent information, and it is not meant to provide a ‘freedom-to-operate’ analysis. It only provides a snapshot at a point in time, based on the information available to MPP.
We do not accept any legal responsibility for the accuracy of data. In particular, we do not guarantee it is complete, up to date or fit for specific purposes. Users should undertake additional country search and legal analysis before making any decision based on this data.
A full understanding of the patent situation in any country, for a specific vaccine, requires additional information and analysis not provided in this database. This includes an analysis of the specific claims of a national/regional patent application or granted patent.
