NIH Receives Deals of Distinction Award

NIH Receives Deals of Distinction Award

December 2, 2022

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.