The NIH claims joint ownership of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine

The Muslim Times has the best collection of articles for the war against Covid 19, especially the vaccines.

Source: Axios

By Bob Herman

The National Institutes of Health may own intellectual property that undergirds a leading coronavirus vaccine being developed by Moderna, according to documents obtained by Axios and an analysis from Public Citizen.

Why it matters: Because the federal government has an actual stake in this vaccine, it could try to make the vaccine a free or low-cost public good with wide distribution, if the product turns out to be safe and effective.

The big picture: The NIH mostly funds outside research, but it also often invents basic scientific technologies that are later licensed out and incorporated into drugs that are sold at massive profits. The agency rarely claims ownership stakes or pursues patent rights, but that appears to be different with this coronavirus vaccine.

• “We do have some particular stake in the intellectual property” behind Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, NIH Director Francis Collins said during an Economic Club interview in May.

Driving the news: New evidence shines light on the extent of NIH’s involvement.

• NIH and Moderna have researched coronaviruses, like MERS, for several years, and signed a contract this past December that stated “mRNA coronavirus vaccine candidates [are] developed and jointly owned” by the two parties. The contract was not specific to the novel coronavirus, and it was signed before the new virus had been sequenced.
• Separately, four NIH scientists have filed for a provisional patent application entitled “2019-nCoV vaccine,” according to disclosures in a pending scientific paper. Moderna scientists co-authored that paper, but none are listed as vaccine co-inventors.
• That makes it clear “the government and the public have a stake” in the coronavirus vaccine, said Zain Rizvi, a health law and policy researcher at Public Citizen. “The vaccine would not exist without the intellectual contributions of federal scientists.”

What they’re saying: NIH said in a statement that its scientists created the “stabilized coronavirus spike proteins for the development of vaccines against coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2,” and the government consequently has “sought patents to preserve the government’s rights to these inventions.”

Read further

Dr. Zia H Shah, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times and in charge of health section

- Advertisement -

The best of the Muslim Times’ collection for war against Covid 19:

In this day and age, understanding bacteria and viruses and developing vaccines are national security issues. In my view sizable part of every country’s defense budget should be spent in these pursuits rather than making tanks and other weapons.

For the latest news about drugs and vaccines’ trials please go to: Pharmaceutical-Technology

For the latest health news from BBC, Please click here

Novavax starting human trial of its vaccine in Australia

Kaiser Permanente launches first coronavirus vaccine trial

Corona Fear’s Cure: Chanting from the Bible and the Quran

Can You Chant from the Bible or the Quran to Bliss and Happiness?

Japanese flu drug ‘clearly effective’ in treating coronavirus, says China

Synthetic antibodies might offer a quick coronavirus treatment

The Four Possible Timelines for Life Returning to Normal

The Muslim Times Recommending Universal BCG Vaccination to Fight the Pandemic

Coronavirus: TB Vaccination Trial Started in Melbourne, Australia

The Muslim Times has the best collections in the war against Covid 19 as we are collecting from all the established sources

All of humanity are intimate neighbors: Coronavirus proves it once again

Praise be to God for the Miracle of Our Immune System

USA: 15-minute coronavirus test is here

Does the Ordinary Soap Kill Coronavirus?

Here’s a list of disinfectants you can use against coronavirus

For the number of cases and epidemiology in each country go to: WorldOMeters

DAILY NEW CASES AND DEATHS IN US, CDC SITE