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.