Technology and Knowledge Diffusion

ISO standards diluted by WiFi negative LOAs

This article discusses a partnership between IEEE and ISO to fast-track some IEEE standards through ISO. Certain IEEE standards relating to Wi-Fi technologies are getting fast-tracked even though they have not gotten positive Letters of Assurance, despite this being a necessary prerequisite for ISO approval.

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Webinar: Ensuring leadership on 5G

Looking ahead to 2021 and beyond, this webinar explores the future of technological leadership, with a focus on 5G and other emerging technologies. Panelists discuss the roles that business and government will play in building the next generation of technologies.

Topics include:

  • What is 5G?
  • 5g use cases: examples from the U.S. and Germany
  • Challenges to using 5G
  • How we can engender innovation related to 5G
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Collaboration to enhance availability of COVID-19 therapeutics

As of November 2020, at least 44 manufacturing and production deals for COVID-19 therapeutics around the globe were made public. A number of these deals were intended to expand access to therapeutics to low and middle-income countries. In relation to all of them, licensing, enabled by a well well-functioning intellectual property system, has been a key enabler.

  • Eli Lilly and Company and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as part of the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, have entered into an agreement to facilitate access to future Lilly therapeutic antibodies under development for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, to benefit low- and middle-income countries. Lilly’s collaborators have agreed to waive their royalties on the Lilly therapeutic antibodies distributed in low- and middle-income countries as part of this initiative.
  • Gilead has entered into voluntary licensing agreements with nine generics manufacturers to further expand supply of remdesivir to 127 countries that represent nearly all low-income and lower-middle income countries. Gilead has completed technology transfers with these companies, and they are beginning the manufacturing process.
  • Merck, IAVI, and Serum Institute of India are collaborating to develop a neutralizing monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19. If successful, Merck will lead commercialization in developed countries and the Serum Institute will lead global manufacturing as well as commercialization in low- and middle-low-income countries, including India.
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Collaborations to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution

The need for the rapid development and global distribution of a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection has spurred a number of novel collaborations between the pharmaceutical companies, research entities, and other stakeholders. These collaborations aim to ensure broad access to new health technologies to address the pandemic.

  • One example is the University of Oxford Jenner Institute vaccine candidate, developed with AstraZeneca, that included collaborations with Catalent Biologics (Italy), Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services (UK), Oxford Biomedica (UK), Emergent BioSolutionsBioKangtai (China), and R-Pharm (Russia). Through the WHO’s Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, AstraZeneca signed an agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, on vaccine development, manufacturing, and procurement, ensuring 300 million doses of the vaccine for low- and middle-income countries. Separately, AstraZeneca also signed a license agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to supply 1 billion doses of vaccine to low- and middle-income countries.
  • Another example involves Sanofi and GSK, which signed a Statement of Intent with Gavi, to make available 200 million doses of their adjuvanted recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, if approved by regulatory authorities.
  • A third example focuses on Johnson & Johnson.  The company has committed to bringing an affordable vaccine to the public on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use and anticipates the first batches of a COVID-19 vaccine to be available for emergency use authorization in early 2021.
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Covid-19 vaccine stakeholders’ IP strategies

In this article, IAM examines the approaches taken by – and the issues facing – the leading companies in the race to find effective coronavirus inoculations.

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VIDEO: Why Researchers Need an IP Strategy

On October 8, 2020, 4iP Council held a webinar to explore the relevance of IP for research for both public and private spheres. The speakers, Dr. Peter Oksen, Senior Program Officer of WIPO GREEN, and Prof. Koenraad Debackere, Executive Director of KU Leuven Research and Development, discussed the role of IP in technology transfer, the related legal context and its variations across Europe.

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Pfizer COVID vaccine raises IP questions

It has been announced today that the covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been found to be 90% effective in preventing the disease, without presenting any safety concerns in the first interim analysis from its Phase 3 clinical study. This puts it at the head of the pack of candidate vaccines in the race to achieve regulatory approval. But there are major IP obstacles for any organisation seeking to produce a copycat version; while Pfizer/BioNTech themselves are embroiled in a patent dispute over the vaccine. Read more.

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WIPO Re:Search

By catalyzing a broad range of innovative collaborations, WIPO Re:Search supports early-stage research and development (R&D) in the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), malaria, and tuberculosis.  Harnessing the power of public-private partnerships, it helps make IP available to scientists who need it. Moreover, through WIPO Re:Search, scientists from a range of countries have had the chance to participate in scientific exchanges and training abroad. This was an unanticipated benefit from the initiative. Innovation Council member Novartis was a founding member of WIPO Re:Search.

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Video: Corning Gorilla Glass for iPhones

Since 1851, Corning has evolved from a light bulb manufacturer to Pyrex creator to making high-tech glass products for companies like Apple, Google, Verizon, and Samsung. This video offers a look at how Corning has continuously reinvented itself to keep up with the changing times.

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