The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), a multi-stakeholder partnership to facilitate sharing of intellectual property (IP), knowledge and innovations, has announced three new licensing agreements acquired through the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP).
Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Chile are licensed to transfer know-how, materials and clinical data needed in different countries.
C-TAP was launched in May 2020 by the WHO and the Government of Costa Rica with the support of 44 Member States, UN Development Programme, Unitaid, UNAIDS, and implementing partners such as MPP.
It works under the principles of the Solidarity call to action and was designed to serve as a platform for developers of COVID-19 therapeutics, diagnostics, vaccines and other health products to voluntarily share their intellectual property, knowledge, and data to accelerate technological innovation and expand global production capacity.
C-TAP was acknowledged as an important tool in the 2021 “Local Production Resolution” to facilitate sustainable access to quality-assured, safe, effective and affordable medicines and other health technologies.
Furthermore, it has played an important role in raising awareness of the role of technology and knowledge 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,” said 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.”
Addition of the three new licenses now provides an important boost to the overall effort.
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 timely, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health products through transparent, public health oriented, non-exclusive and broad licensing agreements has also established a Technology Access Pool database that provides a searchable repository.
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organization 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 organizations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritize and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
