NIH Receives Deals of Distinction Award

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) along with Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), were awarded a Deals of Distinction Award by the Licensing Executives Society. The honor recognizes organizations that orchestrate the year's most outstanding licensing and business deals. The award was presented in the Industry-University-Government Interface Sector for “COVID-19 Technologies Licensed Globally Through WHO Program”.

Patents and biological materials for 11 different NIH COVID-19 technologies have been made available to the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) through the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). Inventors from four NIH institutes and two universities developed the technologies being licensed which include the stabilized spike protein technology used in currently available COVID-19 vaccines along with research tools for vaccine, drug, and diagnostic development, as well as early-stage vaccine candidates and diagnostics.

The announcement of the licenses was made on May 12, 2022, by President Biden at the second Global COVID-19 Summit.

NIH licensed these technologies to the MPP to help low- and middle-income countries have access to lifesaving treatments, vaccines, and diagnostics through the WHO’s C-TAP Program. This transaction embodies the true scope and spirit of the IUGI sector at LES because it involves, government, international organizations, universities and non-government organizations (NGOs) utilizing license transaction for public good and benefit.

*In the photo, Steve Ferguson (NIH) (left) and Sandra Nobre (MPP) show off their awards at the LES Lunch Awards Ceremony.