KNOWLEDGE PORTAL
on innovation and access to medicines

“SIGA Technologies, Inc. is a public, commercial-stage pharmaceutical company focused on providing solutions for unmet needs in the health security market that comprises medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, as well as emerging infectious diseases…Our product, TPOXX® (tecovirimat) that is available in oral and intravenous formulations, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of smallpox. The European Medicine Agency (EMA) has approved oral TPOXX (under the name Tecovirimat SIGA) for the treatment of smallpox, monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia complications following vaccination against smallpox” (SIGA Technologies, n.d.).

“The Sabin Vaccine Institute works to strengthen immunization in communities most affected by infectious diseases with a focus on low- and middle-income countries…Sabin supports the professionals most responsible for ensuring all communities receive the maximum benefit vaccines can deliver. We work with partners to better understand and address vaccine acceptance, demand and delivery barriers; bolster professional collaboration; foster action to develop new and universal vaccines; and better apply epidemiology to maximize vaccine rollout effectiveness…We are dedicated to making vaccines more accessible, enabling innovation and expanding immunization across the globe” (Sabin Vaccine Institute, n.d.).

“The South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI) was established in 1999 as an initiative of the South African government and managed as a lead programme of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). SAAVI’s role was to co-ordinate and support the development and testing of HIV vaccines in South Africa with the aim of finding an affordable, effective and locally relevant HIV vaccine” (SAAVI, n.d.).

This organization was included for its participation in non profit R&D for Neglected Diseases (Vieira M, Kimmitt R and Moon S. F1000Research 2021, 10:190)

This organization was included for its participation in non profit R&D for Neglected Diseases (Vieira M, Kimmitt R and Moon S.  F1000Research 2021, 10:190)

“The SGC is a pre-competitive public-private partnership in the areas of structural and chemical biology, and drug discovery…The SGC mission is to understand all proteins encoded by the human genome and accelerate the discovery of new medicines…Our pioneering open science model for protein science, chemical biology and drug discovery adheres to the principles that all data, reagents and tools generated by SGC scientists (including those developed in collaboration with partners from the private sector and academia) must be made publicly available (deposited into public databases) without any restrictions on their use” (SGC, n.d.).

“TB Alliance is a not-for-profit organization [product development partnership] dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of better, faster-acting and affordable tuberculosis drugs that are available to those who need them…Since our inception in 2000, TB Alliance has led the global search for and development of new TB regimens, catalyzing the field and convening cross-sector partnerships to forge the progress that is urgently needed for better TB treatments” (TB Alliance, n.d.).

SK bioscience was established as a vaccine R&D center in 2005. In 2012, they built their own vaccine manufacturing plant (L HOUSE), "successfully establishing a portfolio of self-developed vaccines, including: SKYCellflu®, the world's first cell culture-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine; SKYZoster® Inj., the world´s second Shingles vaccine; and SKYVaricella® Inj., chickenpox vaccine to receive the World Health Organization Prequalification certification."

“The Soros Economic Development Fund is the impact investment arm of the Open Society Foundations. We make private-sector investments to advance the Foundations’ enduring commitments of equity, expression, and justice” (SEDF, n.d.). Within the Access to Medicines theme, they “seek to support innovative businesses that put affordability and accessibility at the heart of what they do. We aim to achieve this goal by shifting research and development, manufacturing, and distribution capacity to the Global South where local needs, experience, and leadership can better influence and shape incentives for the industry as a whole” (ibid).

In November 2021, the CSIC signed a worldwide license with the Medicines Patent Pool for a COVID-19 serological antibody diagnostic test, in order to facilitate the rapid manufacture and commercialization of the test worldwide. The agreement includes all related patents and the biological material necessary for manufacture of the test, including all know-how and/or to prospective licensees as well as training. The license is royalty-free for low- and middle-income countries and will remain valid until the date the last patent expires (CSIC, 2021).

This organization was included for its participation in non profit R&D for Neglected Diseases (Vieira M, Kimmitt R and Moon S.  F1000Research 2021, 10:190)

This organization was included for its participation in non profit R&D for Neglected Diseases (Vieira M, Kimmitt R and Moon S.  F1000Research 2021, 10:190)

The TDR Targets database is a bioinformatics project that seeks to “leverage diverse datasets to facilitate drug discovery for neglected disease pathogens. TDR Targets functions both as a website where you can look for information on targets, drugs and/or bioactive compounds of interest, and as a tool for prioritization of targets in whole genomes…TDR Targets is currently led and run by the Trypanosomatics group at IIB-UNSAM (Argentina) with help with external collaborators worldwide” (TDR Targets, n.d.).