17 Oct Bayh-Dole Coalition Statement on USITC Report on Covid-19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Washington, D.C. (October 17, 2023) — Today, the U.S. International Trade Commission released its fact-finding report on the implications of a World Trade Organization proposal to waive intellectual property protections on Covid-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.
In response, Joseph P. Allen, Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, released the following statement:
“Waiving intellectual property protections on Covid-19 diagnostics and therapeutics is counterproductive. As we saw while first responding to the Covid-19 emergency, IP protections foster public-private sector R&D partnerships that generate effective technologies. That remains true today.
“The United States led the world in developing effective Covid-19 therapies, thanks in large part to the public-private partnerships made possible by the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act. Giving away the fruits of these partnerships to foreign adversaries would undermine entrepreneurs’ faith in the Bayh-Dole system and jeopardize our country’s ability to respond to future crises.
“The International Trade Commission has finished its work. It’s time for the Biden administration to restore innovators’ confidence in intellectual property rights by rejecting the misguided extension proposal, if the United States wants to lead in creating new therapies needed to protect world health in future emergencies.”
About the Bayh-Dole Coalition: The Bayh-Dole Coalition is a diverse group of research and scientific organizations, as well as those directly involved in commercializing new products, dedicated to protecting the Bayh-Dole Act and educating policymakers about the positive impacts of the legislation.