[Ip-health] BIO Ventures for Global Health Chosen to Administer the GSK and Alnylam Intellectual Property Pool

[Malini Aisola]

http://www.bvgh.org/IPPool.asp

Press Releases


January 20, 2010

BIO Ventures for Global Health Chosen to Administer the GSK and Alnylam
Intellectual Property Pool


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C. -- January 20, 2010 -- BIO Ventures for Global Health,
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Alnylam announced today that the
organizations are partnering to engage the global health community in
using the powerful resources of the GSK and Alnylam Intellectual
Property (IP) Pool.  The IP Pool was formed in February 2009 to aid in
the discovery and development of new medicines for the treatment of 16
neglected tropical diseases, as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, in the world=E2=80=99s least developed countries.  By adopt=
ing a
more accessible approach to intellectual property, the pool facilitates
access to compounds and technologies and, most importantly, industrial
know-how for organizations that want to conduct research on treatments
for these neglected diseases.

=E2=80=9CNew medicines for diseases that primarily affect the poor in devel=
oping
countries have been slow in coming because although the market is large
in numbers, most of the people affected and their governments cannot
afford to pay even moderate prices. This means that much of the
development of new medicines is taking place in innovative non-profits
and academic research centers,=E2=80=9D says Melinda Moree, Chief Executive
Officer of BIO Ventures for Global Health, an independent, non-profit
organization.  =E2=80=9CFor many of these academic and global health non-pr=
ofit
groups, however, intellectual property can be perceived as preventing
rather than enabling their work. I am excited to use this new role to
help those working on developing products for neglected diseases speed
up their efforts by accessing the patents, technologies, and product
development expertise available in the IP Pool.=E2=80=9D

As the pool=E2=80=99s administrator, BIO Ventures for Global Health will
organize disease-specific meetings that identify the gaps in expertise
and intellectual property that currently exist in product development
for neglected diseases. BIO Ventures for Global Health will then help
global health researchers work with industry to fill these gaps so that
the resources generously made available by companies will be used to
create medicines for neglected diseases faster and more efficiently.

=E2=80=9CWe applaud the actions of GSK, Alnylam, and other forward-thinking
companies who want to contribute their knowledge and resources to help
speed the development of medicines for poor patients in the developing
world,=E2=80=9D says Moree. =E2=80=9CThe fact is that millions of people di=
e each year
from these neglected diseases and the pace of drug development is far
too slow for the enormous need.  The IP Pool will move medicines for
neglected diseases forward more quickly and effectively and help save
lives in the developing world.=E2=80=9D

About the Intellectual Property (IP) Pool

The diseases targeted by the pool are the 16 diseases identified by the
FDA for its own Neglected Tropical Diseases initiative. These are
tuberculosis, malaria, blinding trachoma, buruli ulcer, cholera,
dengue/dengue haemorrhagic fever, racunculiasis, fascioliasis, human
African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis,
onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil transmitted helminthiasis and
yaws. The geographic focus of the pool will be the world=E2=80=99s Least
Developed Countries as identified by the United Nations and includes
much of western and central Africa as well as several countries in
Southeast Asia.

About BIO Ventures for Global Health

BIO Ventures for Global Health is a non-profit organization whose
mission is to save lives by accelerating the development of novel
biotechnology-based drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to address the
unmet medical needs of the developing world. The organization spurs
biotech industry involvement in global health product development by
increasing biotech and global health partnerships, designing and
advocating for compelling market-based incentives, and synthesizing and
disseminating critical information and quantitative analysis. For more
information, please visit www.bvgh.org.

About GlaxoSmithKline =E2=80=93 one of the world=E2=80=99s leading research=
-based
pharmaceutical and healthcare companies =E2=80=93 is committed to improving=
 the
quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and
live longer.  For further information, please visit www.gsk.com.

About Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Alnylam is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics
based on RNA interference, or RNAi.  The company is applying its
therapeutic expertise in RNAi to address significant medical needs, many
of which cannot effectively be addressed with small molecules or
antibodies, the current major classes of drugs.  Alnylam is leading the
translation of RNAi as a new class of innovative medicines with
peer-reviewed research efforts published in the world=E2=80=99s top scienti=
fic
journals including Nature, Nature Medicine, and Cell.  The company is
leveraging these capabilities to build a broad pipeline of RNAi
therapeutics; its most advanced program is in Phase II human clinical
trials for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection
and is partnered with Cubist and Kyowa Hakko Kirin.  In addition, the
company is developing RNAi therapeutics for the treatment of a wide
range of disease areas, including liver cancers, TTR-mediated
amyloidosis, hypercholesterolemia, and Huntington=E2=80=99s disease.  The
company=E2=80=99s leadership position in fundamental patents, technology, a=
nd
know-how relating to RNAi has enabled it to form major alliances with
leading companies including Medtronic, Novartis, Biogen Idec, Roche,
Takeda, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, and Cubist.  Alnylam and Isis are joint
owners of Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a company focused on the discovery,
development, and commercialization of microRNA-based therapeutics.
Founded in 2002, Alnylam maintains headquarters in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.  For more information, please visit www.alnylam.com.

For additional information, contact:
Molly Polen, Director of Communications, BIO Ventures for Global Health
202-470-6232



--
Malini Aisola
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington DC 20009
malini.aisola@keionline.org|Tel: +1.202.332.2670|Fax: +1.202.332.2673