MSF comments to the Department of Defense intent to grant exclusive license of patents on a Zika vaccine candidate
Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) comments to the Department of Defense notice of intent to grant an exclusive license of U.S. government-owned patents on a Zika vaccine candidate
January 23, 2017
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides the following comments regarding the Notice from the Department of the Army of the United States Department of Defense of its intent to grant an exclusive, royalty-bearing, revocable license to pending United States Provisional Patent Application 62/ 343,315, entitled, ‘‘Zika Virus Vaccine and Methods of Production’’ filed May 31, 2016 and an exclusive, royalty-bearing, revocable license to pending United States Provisional Patent Application 62/370,260, entitled, ‘‘Zika Vaccine and Methods of Preparation’’ filed August 3, 2016 to Sanofi Pasteur. Notice appeared in 81 FR 89087 on Friday, December 9, 2016.
MSF objects to the grant of an exclusive patent license and urges the United States government to consider the negative impact an exclusive agreement will have on the development, affordability and availability of a Zika vaccine, which is urgently needed for people affected by the Zika virus in the United States and worldwide. We ask the U.S. government to consider instead granting an open non-exclusive patent license with appropriate and publicly available terms and conditions to help ensure that further development of this U.S. government funded-technology will prioritize all health needs and ensure sustainable and affordable access of any resulting vaccine.