Introduction:
This workshop will bring together biomedical, legal, trade, human rights, and public health experts to examine the implications of Article 27.3(a) of the WTO TRIPS Agreement on the patentability of gene and cell-based therapies including those involving CAR T, CRISPR and other technologies when treatment can be described as a service or a medical procedure, rather than a product. The workshop will explore if certain gene and cell-based treatments are, in fact, exempt from patentability when a country has an exception that mirrors Article 27.3(a) of the TRIPS Agreement. Experts will also discuss non-patent approaches to providing incentives to invest in innovations that delink R&D costs from prices and monopolies on the medical technologies for such treatments, for example innovation inducement prize funds and market entry rewards.
