Devex: Zika vaccine could be delayed, unaffordable after U.S. Army grants exclusive rights to pharma company
“The U.S. Army’s plan to grant exclusive rights to a promising Zika vaccine to a major pharmaceutical company has raised questions about whether that threatens its future affordability and availability to people in developing countries. … The humanitarian aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières has criticized the Army’s decision to grant Sanofi the patent license, which will give the company an exclusive right to make, use, and sell the vaccine for 20 years, as well as 12 years of marketing and data exclusivity even after the patent has expired. … MSF wants the U.S. Army to consider granting an ‘open nonexclusive’ patent license instead, opening up the technology to other pharmaceutical companies for testing and development…” (Edwards, 1/27).