FAQs

What is a patent pool?

A patent pool is a voluntary arrangement where a group or groups agree to licence identified classes of patents and/or classes of technology to third parties on predetermined standard conditions.

What would a successful pool look like for GSK?

Our hope is that the pool will engender a collaborative approach within industry and between industry and third parties (including academic researchers and, potentially, funding agencies) to deliver real benefits for patients in least developed countries.

Timings associated with product development are notoriously difficult to second-guess. However, however long it takes, success for GSK is the same as success for patients – the development of new products for the target neglected tropical diseases.

What is the therapeutic scope of your pool?

The pool is aimed at helping to bridge the gap in the severe lack of R&D and access to medicines for the treatment of the 16 neglected tropical diseases identified by the US Food and Drug Administration for its own neglected tropical diseases initiative.

These are tuberculosis, malaria, blinding trachoma, buruli ulcer, cholera, dengue/dengue haemorrhagic fever, racunculiasis, fascioliasis, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil transmitted helminthiasis and yaws.

What are the distinctions between a patent and a patent application? Do the terms and conditions for licensing vary?

Unlike some intellectual property rights, patents are applied for at national or regional patent offices. They are usually examined by the respective offices to determine whether they meet the requirements of patentability (whether they are novel inventive and capable of industrial application) and, if they do, they are granted. It is generally not until they are granted that proceedings to prevent infringement can be taken.

Although it is possible that there will be ultimately be differences between the license terms for patents and applications, we do not currently anticipate that that will be the case.

What is the geographic focus of the pool?

GSK will provide licences for the development of medicines for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases in least developed countries. The patents families that we are contributing to the pool are not generally filed in least developed countries. We believe that the contribution of patents and patent applications in outside of these least developed countries will encourage research and development of drugs for neglected tropical diseases for use within the identified target countries.

Are you only including patents in least developed countries?

No. The pool extends to patents anywhere in the world in order to allow third parties to conduct research into neglected diseases.