3 March 2022
Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) jointly welcome the announcement that the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) will offer several technologies to the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) for potential licensing through MPP. The announcement was made today at the U.S. COVID-19 Dialogue with Ministers of Health meeting in the presence of WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director and Chief Medical Advisor to the President of United States, Anthony Fauci.
“I thank NIH for its offer of innovative therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostic methods for COVID-19,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Voluntary sharing of technologies through non-exclusive agreements will not only help us put the pandemic behind us; it will also empower low- and middle-income countries to produce their own medical products and achieve equitable access.”
“NIH were the first to share their patents with MPP for an HIV product back in 2010 when we were created,” said Charles Gore, MPP Executive Director. “We will be honoured to sign public health-driven transparent non-exclusive licence agreements with NIH under the auspices of C-TAP when the negotiations have concluded, with the goal to provide access of these innovative technologies to people in need around the world and help put an end to the pandemic.”
Launched in 2020 by the WHO Director-General and the President of Costa Rica, and supported by 43 Member States, C-TAP aims to facilitate timely, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health products by boosting their production and supply through open, non-exclusive licensing agreements. MPP provides the licensing expertise to this initiative and holds the licences.
Press and Media
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
To date, MPP has signed agreements with 22 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, a post-partum haemorrhage medicine, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 16 COVID-19 technologies.
MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Government of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Government of Flanders. MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.