During the COVID-19 pandemic, the public sector provided significant funding to accelerate the research and development (R&D) of health products. Globally, however, unequal and inequitable access to such products has prompted questions on how placing strategic conditions on public funding could improve access to the fruits of R&D. An important aspect of this issue is how conditions on intellectual property (IP) can contribute to achieving public policy goals such as affordable pricing and reliable supply. To facilitate the discussion, the present report provides empirical evidence of conditions adopted by publicly funded international R&D projects directed at health emergencies, with a particular focus on IP management.
A review of the literature found that public funding plays a central and critical role in R&D for health emergencies. However, governments have largely taken national rather than international approaches to such investments, prioritizing funding for research entities based in their own territories. Numerous expert bodies have called for conditions on public R&D funding to be strengthened, both for emergencies and for day-to-day R&D, but limited action has been taken to date.
We present five case studies of publicly funded international R&D projects, based on publiclyavailable information and interviews with key informants. For each project, we review and analyze the operational model, IP management approach and progress to date. To the extent possible, sample contractual provisions are included in Annex II for reference and further analysis.