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European Biopharmaceutical Review
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Thomas Bombelles of the World Intellectual Property Organization
explores the role of the recent consortium WIPO Re:Search in fostering
advances in R&D into neglected tropical diseases through the
creative use of intellectual property.
The public health challenges facing developing and least developed
countries (LDCs) are complex and require multiple approaches. One
priority is the development of new and better medicines and vaccines for
diseases that predominantly a ffect the poor. As stated by the World
Health Organization (WHO) in its 2010 report, 'Working to overcome the
impact of neglected tropical diseases', "neglected tropical diseases
(NTDs), malaria and tuberculosis blight the lives of more than a billion
people worldwide and threaten the health of millions more." NTDs are
largely a symptom of poverty and disadvantage. Those most a ffected are
the poorest populations who are often living in remote rural areas,
urban slums and shanty towns, or in conflict zones. In addition to their
negative impact on health, NTDs contribute to perpetuate a cycle of
poverty and stigma that often leaves people unable to work, go to school
or participate in community life. The WHO report called for more
R&D to develop better interventions as a key component of an overall
strategy to combat these diseases.
The system of intellectual property rights primarily, but by no means
exclusively, supports investment in innovation that yields many new
inventions, such as life-saving medicines. The World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) is the specialised United Nations agency
focused on intellectual property.
WIPO Re:Search is founded on the belief that intellectual property and
knowledge can be used creatively to stimulate the invention of new
health solutions, while also ensuring access for the most disadvantaged
populations. Recognising the need for more progress in neglected disease
research, several of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, WIPO
and BIO Ventures for Global Health joined efforts in 2011 to form WIPO
Re:Search. The purpose of WIPO Re:Search is to foster collaborations to
advance and stimulate research and development for new and better
treatment options for those suffering from these conditions.
WIPO Re:Search is a new consortium through which public and private
sector organisations around the world are making valuable intellectual
property available on a royalty-free basis to qualified researchers
anywhere in the world seeking to develop new solutions for NTDs, malaria
and tuberculosis. Services, such as access to company research
facilities, screening of compounds, as well as the sharing of expertise
and hosting of scientists, are also offered through WIPO Re:Search.
The principal implementing tools developed by WIPO Re:Search are the
Public Database, to guarantee transparency and accessibility of
information, and the Partnership Hub, to facilitate collaboration and
cross-sector partnerships. The Public Database is composed of
intellectual property assets that providers have chosen to make
available through WIPO Re:Search. All the information is publicly
available and can be accessed without registration. Providers to the
database submit summary information relevant to: hits, leads, lead
series, preclinical candidates, clinical candidates, enabling
technologies, intellectual property, formulation, diagnostic tools,
vaccines, new biological entities, know-how, or other services for the
purpose of facilitating R&D. All licenses granted for R&D and
manufacture must be royalty-free to any user anywhere in the world. Any
products developed for these diseases under a WIPO Re:Search Agreement
must be sold on a royalty-free basis in all LDCs. Access terms for other
developing countries are subject to agreement between the parties.
Because collaborations are critical to success in science, the
Partnership Hub is a key component of WIPO Re:Search. As the Partnership
Hub Administrator, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) actively
engages with members – including major pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies, academic and other non-profit research institutions,
government, and non-governmental organisations – to facilitate neglected
tropical disease research collaborations among members.
Through the Partnership Hub, WIPO Re:Search connects providers and
potential users so that assets and knowledge are shared to accelerate
the development of products in the fight against NTDs. As WIPO Re:Search
develops over time, WIPO and BIO Ventures for Global Health are
collecting and analysing feedback in order to ensure that the
consortium’s operations, in particular the database and related
services, are useful to the global health research community.
Launched in October 2011 with 30 members, today WIPO Re:Search has 50
members and the first collaborative research agreements were announced
in August 2012. The first WIPO Re:Search agreements were made by
AstraZeneca, which is collaborating with research institutions to study
novel treatments for Chagas disease, sleeping sickness, schistosomiasis
(snail fever), and tuberculosis. Specifically, the agreements are with:
● The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Originally
developed for osteoarthritis, AstraZeneca’s mature cathepsin inhibitors
will be tested by UCSF researchers for activity in biochemical and
phenotypic screens for two parasitic diseases: schistosomiasis and
kinetoplastid diseases. Schistosomiasis can damage internal organs,
impair growth and cognitive development in children, and the urinary
form can increase risk for bladder cancer in adults. Kinetoplastid
diseases include sleeping sickness and Chagas disease
● The University of Dundee
Researchers will test a selection of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3
inhibitors, which were originally developed for a potential
treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, against parasites responsible for
Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness
● iThemba Pharmaceuticals
AstraZeneca will provide iThemba with computational and medicinal
chemistry support for development of iThemba’s isocitrate lyase
inhibitors, compounds intended as a novel treatment for tuberculosis
In addition to global pharmaceutical companies, members of WIPO
Re:Search include universities and research centres worldwide. Of
particular importance are the several research centres from the African
continent whose participation is an important component to the
development of new and better treatments for NTDs
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