WIPO Re:Search
Accelerating the discovery and development of technologies for neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and tuberculosis by sharing intellectual property with the global health research community, catalyzing and fostering global health collaborations, and contributing to capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries.
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Objectives
- Accelerating development of new vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs for malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
- To create partnerships that connect private industry’s assets and resources with qualified academic and nonprofit researchers with novel product discovery or development ideas.
- Guiding principles to ensure products are available royalty free in least developed countries.
Partnership activities and how they address needs and challenges
WIPO Re:Search, a global consortium, was founded by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in partnership with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) and several leading pharmaceutical companies in 2011. Consortium partners recognized the need to accelerate the development of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for infectious diseases. Today, WIPO Re:Search continues to advance sharing of intellectual property toward R&D for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), malaria, and tuberculosis.
As the Partnership Hub administrator of WIPO Re:Search, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) proactively examines scientists’ current neglected disease research and proposes novel collaboration opportunities with other Members. BVGH also fields requests from researchers, identifies Member organizations able to fulfill these requests, and helps forge mutually beneficial collaborations with clearly-defined roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) manages the WIPO Re:Search Resource Platform, a searchable, public database of available intellectual property assets and resources. WIPO Re:Search provides access to important IP resources to support its member organizations in research on vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs for NTDs, striving ultimately to improve the lives of those most in need. WIPO Re:Search Members include prestigious academic institutions and some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies..
Public-Private Partnership Activities
Eisai Co., Ltd. activities: Through WIPO Re:Search, Eisai has collaborated recently with University of Yaoundé I; Infectious Disease Research Institute; and University of Buea on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, onchocerciasis, and tuberculosis.
GSK activities: Through WIPO Re:Search, GSK has collaborated recently with Washington University in St. Louis; University of California, San Francisco; and Fundação Oswaldo Cruz on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including Chagas disease and malaria.
Johnson & Johnson activities: Through WIPO Re:Search, Johnson & Johnson has collaborated recently with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research; Washington University in St. Louis; National Institutes of Health; and University of Yaoundé I on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany activities: Through WIPO Re:Search, Merck KGaA has collaborated recently with University of California, San Diego; University of Yaoundé I; and University of Buea on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including Buruli ulcer, Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis. Merck KGaA is known as EMD in the US and Canada.
MSD activities: Through WIPO Re:Search, MSD has collaborated recently with Seattle Children’s Research Institute/Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease; The George Washington University; and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including malaria, schistosomiasis, and tuberculosis. MSD is a trademark of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
Novartis Pharma AG activities: Novartis was a founding member of WIPO Re:Search and participated through the program’s conclusion in 2022. Over the 10 years of the program’s successful run, Novartis, among other things, collaborated with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research; Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory; and Public Health Research Institute on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including Chagas disease and malaria.
Pfizer Inc. activities: Through WIPO Re:Search, Pfizer has collaborated recently with Kenya Medical Research Institute; Washington University in St. Louis/The George Washington University; and Infectious Disease Research Institute on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including malaria and tuberculosis.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited activities: Through WIPO Re:Search, Takeda has collaborated recently with National Institutes of Health; Infectious Disease Research Institute; and Seattle Children’s Research Institute on solutions to neglected infectious diseases including Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, and malaria.
Results and milestones
Membership has grown to include over 150 organisations representing over 40 countries. Since 2011, 154 research collaborations have been established between Members. 15 of these projects progressed to the next stage of product development. In 2019, there were 54 ongoing collaborations.
Malaria, tuberculosis, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminthiases are the top five most common diseases subject to WIPO Re:Search collaborations established to date.
The WIPO Re:Search Fellowship Program is building an international community of researchers to catalyze R&D for neglected diseases. Key impacts include 20 fellowships totaling 100+ months of training and securing grant funding, including over US $750,000 for one fellow.
Geographic Reach
- Global Commitment
- Africa
- Americas
- South-East Asia
Disease Area
- Infectious and Parasitic Disease
Target Population
- Children
- Men
- Youth
- Elderly
- People with low incomes
- Marginalized/indigenous people
Partner organizations
University of Bamako
University of New South Wales
Congolese Foundation for Medical Research
University of Papua New Guinea - School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Biomedical Research Institute
African Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology (AiBST)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
University of British Columbia
University of South Florida
Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery
University of São Paulo
Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
McGill University
University of Buea
University of Toronto
Health Sciences Research Institute
University of South Carolina
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Case Western Reserve University
McMaster University
University of Calgary
University of Vermont
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
University of Texas
Council on Health Research for Development
Monash University
University of California, Berkeley
University of Washington
Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Rosario
University of Zambia
Emory University
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
University of Yaound
Medical Research Institute - Alexandria University
Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto
Indian Council of Medical Research
National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand
University of California, San Francisco
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Public Health Research Institute
Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI)
National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)
University of Dundee
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Seattle Children's Research Institute
Theodor Bilharz Research Institute
Institut Pasteur Korea
National Institute of Immunology, India
University of Edinburgh
Washington University in St Louis, USA
Social Medicine Institute - Rio de Janeiro State University
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B)
National University of Singapore
University of Florida
Ahmadu Bello University
Umaru Musa Yar’adua University
George Washington University
International Vaccine Institute
Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
University of Georgia
Armauer Hansen Research Institute
Université Paris-Sud
University of Antioquia, Colombia
James Cook University
Northeastern University
University of Ibadan
Bandung Institute of Technology
University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar
Centre Pasteur du Cameroon (CPC)
Kenya Medical Research Institute
Sabin Vaccine Institute
University of Kansas
Biomedical Center of the Central University of Ecuador
University of Bamenda
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)
Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine
South African Medical Research Council
University of Lagos
Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal
University of Campinas
Institut Pasteur de Madagascar
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Stanford University
University of Mauritius
Center for World Health Medicine
University of Dschang
Institut Pasteur de Tunis
Aberystwyth University
Mahidol University
Structural Genomics Consortium / University of Oxford
University of Melbourne
Centre for Plant Medicine Research
University of Ghana
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
Addis Ababa University
Makerere University
Tulane University
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Burnet Institute
Operation ASHA
Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust
Developing World Health
LifeArc
Salvensis
European Commission
Africa Fighting Malaria
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH)
FIND Diagnostics
Malaria Consortium
PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI)
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)
Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV)
Institute Pasteur
Association of University Managers
International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys
Licensing Executive Society International
Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors
International Hospital Federation (IHF)
Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed)
US National Institutes of Health (NIH)
US Patent and Trademark Office
Massachusetts General Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital
Additional resources
- WIPO Re:Search Resource Platform
- BVGH WIPO Re:Search
- Video - WIPO Re:Search - Sharing IP in the Fight Against Neglected Tropic Diseases
- News Release - Leading Pharmaceutical Companies & Research Institutions Offer IP and Expertise for use in Treating Neglected Tropical Diseases as Part of WIPO Re:Search
- Report - Global Challenges In Focus
- Report - BVGH Partnership Hub Mid-Year Report 2019
- Report - BVGH Partnership Hub Annual Report 2018
Geographic Reach
Global Commitment
Africa
Americas
South-East Asia
Disease Area
Infectious and Parasitic Disease
- Malaria
- Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
- Buruli Ulcer
- Chagas Disease
- Dengue and Chikungunya
- Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm)
- Echinococcosis
- Foodborne Trematodiases
- Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT)
- Leishmaniasis cutaneous and visceral
- Onchocerciasis (River Blindness)
- Rabies
- Schistosomiasis
- Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis
- Tuberculosis
- Other Infectious and Parasitic Disease