WIPO Re:Search - IP at Work for Social Benefit

• Pages: 2-5

DECEMBER 2011

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available to the global research community on a

royalty-free basis to help accelerate the develop-

ment of new and improved therapies. This brings

the energy typically expended on diseases aect-

ing the developed world to bear on NTDs. WIPO

Re:Search is “a groundbreaking example of how a

multi-stakeholder coalition can put IP to work for

social benet,” observed WIPO Director General

Francis Gurry at its launch.

How it works

WIPO Re:Search has three main components:

A fully searchable public database (www.wipore-

search.org), hosted by WIPO, containing informa-

tion about available IP assets, information and

resources;

A Partnership Hub managed by BIO Ventures for

Global Health (BVGH) to foster partnerships

between providers (e.g., pharmaceutical compa-

nies) and NTD researchers, and provide informa-

tion about available licensing and research col-

laboration opportunities, networking possibili-

ties and funding options;

Services to support and facilitate licensing nego-

tiation, and to identify research needs and

opportunities with technical advice from the

World Health Organization (WHO).

To become a member of WIPO Re:Search – as a

user, provider or supporter – an organization must

adhere to the project’s Guiding Principles. These

include a commitment that IP accessed through

WIPO Re:Search will be licensed on a royalty-free

The objective

The prime objective of WIPO Re:Search is to boost

research into NTDs, malaria and TB – to accelerate

the discovery, development and delivery of better

and more eective therapies for those who need

them. For a number of these diseases, eective and

safe medicines are available, although increasing

drug resistance is a problem. For many others

the available treatments are archaic, even toxic.

Against this backdrop, there is a huge need for

continued research into more eective therapies

to treat these diseases.

WIPO Re:Search is an unprecedented collabora-

tion bringing together a broad coalition of public

and private-sector institutions, including leading

pharmaceutical companies, publicly-funded medi-

cal research institutes and councils, and universi-

ties. All partners have agreed to make valuable

intellectual property (IP) assets and know-how

WIPO RE:SEARCH –

IP AT WORK FOR

SOCIAL BENEFIT

WIPO Re:Search

promises to accelerate

the development and

delivery of new and

more eective drugs

to treat NTDs, malaria

and TB

A pioneering initiative that promises to transform the public health landscape in developing countries

was launched at WIPO on October 26, 2011. WIPO Re:Search is an open innovation research platform that

brings together public and private-sector partners to catalyze research into the discovery, development and

delivery of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), malaria and tuberculosis

(TB). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NTDs are largely a symptom of poverty and disad-

vantage and blight the lives of over a billion people around the world. Hardest hit are the poorest of the

poor often living in remote rural areas, urban slums, shantytowns or conict zones. These diseases maim,

disgure, debilitate and often claim the lives of those aected. Lacking political clout and the means to

buy treatments, the needs of aicted communities have largely been ignored. WIPO Re:Search endeavors

to ll the gaps in much-needed research by putting IP to work for social benet. WIPO Magazine explores

the promise this groundbreaking platform holds in reshaping the global public health landscape.

Photos: WHO/NTD/Henrietta Allen