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ACTIVE BETWEEN: 2011-2022

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.
SDGS CONTRIBUTING TO:
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MEMBER COMPANIES:
Academia or research institute 101
Local NGOs 6
Life Sciences 1
Intergovernmental Organizations and Multilaterals 1
Global NGOs 6
Product Development Partnerships 1
Private Foundation or Development Organization 1
Professional and Trade Associations 6
Government 2
Hospitals Health Facilities 2
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.

Quote
Elimination and eradication of malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) requires the coordinated efforts of international stakeholders from both the corporate and non-profit sectors. WIPO Re:Search is a unique and effective public-private partnership model for accelerating malaria, tuberculosis, and NTD R&D through the free sharing of IP assets.
Jennifer Dent
President, BIO Ventures for Global Health
One of the very best things that has happened to me and my institute in the recent past is being a member of WIPO Re:Search. WIPO Re:Search connects us with collaborators from developed countries. This is a feat that we have not been able to achieve for decades.
Olaoluwa Pheabian Akinwale
Director of NTD Research, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
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
See Disease Areas
Target Population
  • Children
  • Men
  • Youth
  • Elderly
  • People with low incomes
  • Marginalized/indigenous people
Partner organizations
Academia or research institute

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

Local NGOs

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Burnet Institute

Operation ASHA

Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust

Developing World Health

LifeArc

Life Sciences

Salvensis

Intergovernmental Organizations and Multilaterals

European Commission

Global NGOs

Africa Fighting Malaria

BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH)

FIND Diagnostics

Malaria Consortium

PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI)

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)

Product Development Partnerships

Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV)

Private Foundation or Development Organization

Institute Pasteur

Professional and Trade Associations

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)

Government

US National Institutes of Health (NIH)

US Patent and Trademark Office

Hospitals Health Facilities

Massachusetts General Hospital

Texas Children's Hospital