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In May, @jbkrell & I concluded the US government has a legal claim to co-ownership of the "core" patents on remdesivir, due to intellectual contributions made by USG scientists. @edsilverman @statnews dug deeper. What he found corroborates our analysis. 1/ https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2020/12/07/gilead-remdesivir-covid19-coronavirus-cdc-patent/
Dr. Michael Lo, scientist at @CDCgov, again confirms it was CDC, not Gilead, that first conceived using remdesivir & related compounds against Ebola. Gilead's patents on remdesivir claim methods of treating Ebola with remdesivir--CDC's invention. 2/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/26/remdesivir-coronavirus-taxpayers/
@edsilverman obtained the contract that governs the collaboration between CDC & Gilead. According to @UW patent expert Robert Gomulkiewicz, it "does not appear to transfer patent ownership from CDC to Gilead," meaning CDC could still assert co-inventorship & co-ownership. 3/
Why does this matter? As @jbkrell, @charles_duan, & I have written in various places, if USG establishes that it is co-owner of patents on remdesivir, it can authorize low-cost generics to use those patents without permission from or payment to Gilead. 4/ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3685413
Of course, there are good reasons to be skeptical of remdesivir's utility, as @reshmagar, @rgupta729 & others have written. But as long as there is demand for the drug among patients & doctors, we should, IMHO, be exploring lower-cost generic options. 5/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/opinion/remdesivir-covid-fda.html
Will CDC asserts its rights? TBD. "When asked if the CDC believes it has any legal claims, an agency spokesperson said, 'this is a legal matter subject to potential litigation and CDC has no further comment.'" 6/6
