Make vaccines, treatments and diagnostics related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are developed with public funding accessible at affordable cost to everyone worldwide

Minister Van Rijn (Medical Care), Minister de Jonge (Health, Welfare & Sports), Minister Van Engelshoven (Education, Culture & Science), Minister Wiebes (Economic Affairs & Climate) and Prof. Dr. Spaan, chair of the Dutch Federation of University Medical

Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) is a global student movement committed to improving access to medicines worldwide by focussing on the role of universities in the system of drug development. We believe universities have the opportunity and responsibility to ensure that the transfer of publicly funded knowledge will promote equitable access to health technologies worldwide.

On April 6th, 2020 UAEM NL sent a letter to Dutch government officials and Prof. Dr. Spaan, chair of the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres (NFU), calling upon them to: Make vaccines, treatments and diagnostics related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are developed with public funding accessible at affordable cost to everyone worldwide.

The Netherlands is widely known for performing top-level biomedical research fueled by significant public investment. On March 31st, the Dutch government announced €42,000,000 will be made available for research related to the COVID-19 outbreak. It will be of crucial importance for the global outbreak response that the results of such public investment into the research and development of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics will be accessible at affordable cost to everyone, worldwide.

Both the NFU and the Dutch government have already demonstrated their commitment to safeguarding the public interest through the 10 principles of Socially Responsible Licensing, a milestone in the field of public knowledge transfer in the Netherlands. We believe that the current pandemic is a key moment for the Dutch government and the NFU to show that these principles are not just a well meant intention, but are being translated into concrete actions within the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask for open and non-exclusive licensing to be included as a precondition for receiving public funding, and for licensing agreements for any technologies developed with public funds to include clear and enforceable requirements for (1) fair and affordable pricing, as well as, (2) transparency in clinical trial reporting. We encourage the non-enforcing of intellectual property rights in low and middle-income countries.
Protecting the health and well-being of all citizens during this pandemic requires a global response rooted in solidarity and collaboration, which is only possible if the results of publicly funded research are accessible at global scale. If monopolies inhibit the affordable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics in certain parts of the world, the efforts of the Dutch Government to protect its citizens will be ineffective.

Please consider supporting our letter to the Dutch government officials and the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres who have the power to deliver this funding and final research outcomes responsibly and transparently, respectively.

Our letter was supported by the following civil society organisations and individuals:  
Wemos
Commons Network
Farma Ter Verantwoording (Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation)
License to Heal (Political Youth Movement)
Martje van Nes, (Interim Delegate Director Doctors without Borders NL)
Wilbert Bannenberg (Public Health consultant)
Prof Dr. Hans Büller, (Founder of Fair Medicine)
Prof Dr. Hans Hogerzeil (Co-Chair, Lancet Commission on Essential Medicines Policies. Professor of Global Health, University Medical Center, Groningen)
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Maastricht, Netherlands
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To: Minister Van Rijn (Medical Care), Minister de Jonge (Health, Welfare & Sports), Minister Van Engelshoven (Education, Culture & Science), Minister Wiebes (Economic Affairs & Climate) and Prof. Dr. Spaan, chair of the Dutch Federation of University Medical
From: [Your Name]

* English version below*

Op 11 maart 2020 verklaarde de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie de uitbraak van COVID-19, veroorzaakt door het nieuwe coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, een wereldwijde pandemie[1]. Wij, individuen en organisaties die zich inzetten voor het garanderen van toegang[2] tot medicijnen voor iedereen, maken ons zorgen over de toegankelijkheid tot vaccins, behandelingen en diagnostiek die cruciaal zullen zijn in de respons tegen COVID-19, in Nederland en daarbuiten.

Via deze brief willen wij deze bezorgdheid uiten aan de Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra en de Nederlandse regering.

Nederland staat veelal bekend om het uitvoeren van hoogstaand onderzoek, aangedreven door aanzienlijke publieke investeringen. Zo is er naar schatting € 1.000.000, - besteed[3] aan het onderzoek en de ontwikkeling van een monoklonaal antilichaam ontdekt in de Universiteit Utrecht en het Erasmus Medisch Centrum, dat momenteel wordt beschouwd als een potentiële kandidaat voor de behandeling van COVID-19. De Nederlandse regering liet onlangs weten € 42.000.000 extra beschikbaar te stellen voor COVID-19 gerelateerd onderzoek[4]. Als onderdeel van de mondiale respons op deze pandemie is het van essentieel belang dat alle vaccins, medicijnen en behandelingen die voortkomen uit dergelijke publieke investeringen ten goede komen aan het publieke belang[5], en dus toegankelijk en betaalbaar zijn voor iedereen, wereldwijd.

Zowel de Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra als de Nederlandse regering hebben hun toewijding voor de toegankelijkheid van publiekelijk gefinancierde medische technologieën reeds laten zien door middel van de 10 principes van Maatschappelijk Verantwoorde Licentiëren[6], een mijlpaal op het gebied van publieke kennisoverdracht in Nederland.

De huidige crisissituatie is een cruciaal moment voor Nederland om deze bereidwilligheid om te zetten in daadkracht, en om deze principes te vertalen in concrete acties die bijdragen aan de wereldwijde respons tegen COVID-19.

We roepen daarom de Nederlandse regering en de Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra op tot het waarborgen van de toegankelijkheid van alle publiekelijk gefinancierde vaccins, behandelingen en diagnostiek gerelateerd aan de COVID-19 pandemie, voor iedereen, wereldwijd. Dit is juist nu ten tijde van deze pandemie van het grootste belang, gezien de enorme vraag naar medische technologieën wereldwijd.

Om de toegang tot alle publiekelijk gefinancierde vaccins, behandelingen en diagnostiek wereldwijd te kunnen waarborgen, vragen we de Nederlandse regering zich in te zetten voor het volgende:
- Promoot het verlenen van licenties die ‘non-exclusief’ zijn als het belangrijkste middel voor technologieoverdracht en maak dit een voorwaarde voor het ontvangen van publieke financiering.
- Neem ‘step-in rights’ op in de financieringsovereenkomsten, die de overheid kan afdwingen wanneer de vergunningverlenende partner niet voldoet aan de vereisten voor het verstrekken van voldoende hoeveelheden van vaccins, behandelingsmethoden of diagnostiek tegen een betaalbare prijs.
- Stimuleer de niet-uitvoering van intellectuele eigendomsrechten in lage- en middeninkomenslanden.
- Licentieer kennis en intellectuele eigendomsrechten in de reeds bestaande Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)[7] of de voorgestelde Covid-19 Patent Pool[8].
- Verzeker de rapportage van alle resultaten uit klinisch onderzoek naar vaccins, behandelingen en diagnostiek in de reeds beschikbare openbare databases.

Om de gezondheid en het welzijn van alle burgers tijdens deze pandemie te beschermen, is een wereldwijde respons vereist die geworteld is in samenwerking en solidariteit. Dit is alleen mogelijk als de resultaten van publiekelijk gefinancierd onderzoek wereldwijd toegankelijk zijn. Wanneer monopolies de toegankelijkheid tot vaccins, behandelingen en diagnostiek wereldwijd belemmeren, zullen de inspanningen van de Nederlandse regering om haar burgers te beschermen niet volstaan.

Wij hopen ten zeerste dat u onze zorgen in acht zult nemen en de noodzakelijke, daadkrachtige respons zult genereren die deze pandemie vereist.

Hoogachtend,
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines The Netherlands

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On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 a global pandemic[1]. As individuals and organizations who are collectively dedicated to ensuring access to medicines for all, we are concerned about the affordable access[2] to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics which will be crucial in containing COVID-19, in the Netherlands and abroad. In this letter, we would like to express these concerns to the Dutch Government and the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres (Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra).

The Netherlands is widely known for performing top-level biomedical research fueled by significant public investment. For example, at least €1,000,000 have been devoted[3] through public funding mechanisms to the research and development of a monoclonal antibody discovered at Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Centre, which is considered a potential candidate for treating COVID-19. On March 31st, the Dutch government announced an additional amount of €42.000.000 euros will be available for biomedical research related to the COVID-19 outbreak[4]. It will be of crucial importance for the global outbreak response that the results of such public investment into the research and development of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics will be accessible at affordable cost to everyone, worldwide[5].

The Dutch government and the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres are already showing their commitment to improving access to publicly funded vaccines, treatments and diagnostics through the 10 principles of Socially Responsible Licensing, which have been published in 2018[6]. The current situation is a key moment to show that these principles are not just a well meant intention, but are being translated into concrete actions within the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We therefore ask the Dutch government and the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres to ensure that all COVID-19 related vaccines, treatments and diagnostics developed with public funding in the Netherlands will be affordable and accessible to everyone, worldwide. This is of utmost importance given the enormous global demand for vaccines, treatments and diagnostics in the midst of this global health emergency.

To ensure global access of all vaccines, treatments and diagnostics developed with public funding, we ask the Dutch government to commit to the following:
- Promote the issuing of non-exclusive licences as the primary means of technology transfer and make this a prerequisite for receiving public funding.
- Include step-in rights in the funding agreements, which the government can enforce when the licensing partner fails to comply with the requirements of providing sufficient quantities of the vaccine, treatment or diagnostic at affordable cost.
- Encourage the non-enforcing of intellectual property rights in low and middle-income countries.
- License knowledge and intellectual property rights in the already existing Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)[7] or the proposed COVID-19 Patent Pool[8].
- Ensure that clinical trial results for all vaccines, treatments and diagnostics will be reported in publicly available clinical trial databases.

Protecting the health and well-being of all citizens during this pandemic requires a global response rooted in solidarity and collaboration, which is only possible if the results of publicly funded research are accessible at global scale. If monopolies inhibit the affordable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics in certain parts of the world, the efforts of the Dutch Government to protect its citizens will be ineffective.

We hope you will take our concerns into account and generate the decisive and necessary public health response this pandemic requires.

Sincerely,

Universities Allied for Essential Medicines The Netherlands