This voluntary initiative, launched in July 2020, remains highly relevant as the world is still fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of voluntary licensing mechanisms in the fight against COVID-19 has been recently reiterated by the European Parliament in the context of the Walsmann Report on the European Intellectual Property Action Plan to support the recovery and improve the resilience of the EU.
EU Research and Innovation played a crucial role in the fight against the pandemic. The paediatric population is particularly at risk from long COVID-19 effects. Paediatric clinical research is fundamental for medical development. EPTRI is able to contribute to each step of the paediatric medicinal products development workflow (proof of concept, preclinical safety and toxicology, validated endpoints and clinical stages), providing competences, technologies and methods adapted to the specific paediatric needs.
The Manifesto is part of the common European response to the coronavirus outbreak and aims to maximise the accessibility of research results in the fight against the pandemic. It provides key principles to follow for all Research and Innovation ecosystem operators involved in COVID-19 prevention, testing, treatment, and vaccination to guarantee that their research results will be accessible for all.
So far, more than 650 organisations (including universities, research institutes and private companies) and more than 1875 individuals endorsed the Manifesto from all over Europe and beyond. This shows a clear commitment and strong citizen engagement towards a better valorisation of research results, leaving no one behind.
The Commission has been made aware of various initiatives to improve sharing and access of intellectual assets in the fight against the pandemic in line with the Manifesto approach.
To help the Commission gather more information on such concrete actions undertaken by you, Manifesto endorsers, we would be grateful if you could please fill in a survey by next 31 March 2022.
While this initiative is targeting the COVID-19 pandemic it is important to examine whether the Manifesto approach could be applied to other societal challenges or crisis situations, to foster faster uptake of results and delivery of solutions.