releases: https://www.stabenow.senate.gov/news/nih-agrees-to-strengthen-licensing-process-and-increase-transparency-on-drug-and-vaccine-patents-following-gao-review-requested-by-senator-stabenow-and-house-oversight-committee-chairwoman-maloney
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.stabenow.senate.gov/news/nih-agrees-to-strengthen-licensing-process-and-increase-transparency-on-drug-and-vaccine-patents-following-gao-review-requested-by-senator-stabenow-and-house-oversight-committee-chairwoman-maloney | NIH Agrees to Strengthen Licensing Process and Increase Transparency on Drug and Vaccine Patents Following GAO Review Requested by Senator Stabenow and House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Maloney | 2020-11-20 | 2020 | 2020-11 | Democrat | House | MI | Debbie Stabenow | S000770 | www.stabenow.senate.gov | legacy | NIH Agrees to Strengthen Licensing Process and Increase Transparency on Drug and Vaccine Patents Following GAO Review Requested by Senator Stabenow and House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Maloney GAO Report Details How Taxpayer-Funded NIH Patents Contributed to the Development of Drugs Brought to Market Friday, November 20, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C.The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report reviewing the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) management of their intellectual property. The reportrecommends HHSfix a deficiency intheir commercial licensing process andpublicly reportmore about the licensing of their intellectual property.U.S. SenatorDebbie Stabenow (MI) andChairwomanof the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) requested this report in order to learn more about how taxpayer-funded research is being used to develop drugsand vaccines. The new report can be found here. In response to the Members' request, GAO reviewed HHS's process for licensing its intellectual property and identified deficiencies that HHS has agreed to correct. HHS has also agreed to GAO's recommendation that HHSbegin to publiclyreport information on the intellectual propertyit licenses and the outcomes and impacts of those agreements. We know thattaxpayer-funded research contributes toalmost all newly approveddrugs.But this reportreveals several cases wherethe governmentdirectlyholds patents on the drug or manufacturing process. These drugs exist because of taxpayer dollarsfrom American families, yet Americans are forced to pay the highest drug prices in the world. Because of our investigation, NIH has agreed to increase transparency in their patent-licensing process in order for the public and lawmakers to better understand how drugs are priced. While there is more work to be done, Chairwoman Maloney and I will press NIH to make sure they follow through on the transparency and contracting requirements in order to make sure these important drugs are available for those who need them,said Senator Stabenow. We all rely on innovative drugs and therapies, but taxpayers are not getting a fair return on their investment. This report shows there is a lot the government can do to protect and strengthen the publicly owned intellectual property that goes intodrug development. I am pleased HHS has agreed to take some basic steps to improve this process, but we must do more to ensure taxpayer-funded inventions are being developed in the public's best interest,said Chairwoman Maloney. Following reports alleging that Gilead Sciences was infringingon government-owned intellectual property relevant to HIV prevention drug Truvada, last June, Senator Stabenow and former House Committee on Oversight and Reform ChairElijah Cummings requested that GAO conduct a review of how HHS manages its intellectual property. This report is the product of that request. ### Next Article Previous Article | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |