01/10/2026
🌍 Patent Pools Before the Next Pandemic: Medicines Patent Pool & the WHO Pandemic Agreement
The next global health emergency may raise a familiar challenge: how quickly can critical medicines, vaccines, and health technologies reach populations across borders?
Patent pools can play an important role by facilitating access to patented technologies through structured licensing arrangements.
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has demonstrated how voluntary licensing can support wider access to certain health technologies, while the WHO Pandemic Agreement creates a broader framework for international pandemic preparedness and cooperation.
Key issues at the intersection of IP and pandemic preparedness include:
🔹 Voluntary licensing and technology access
🔹 Patent pooling and manufacturing capacity
🔹 Technology transfer and know-how
🔹 Equitable access to pandemic-related products
🔹 Balancing innovation incentives with public-health needs
Learn More: https://www.globalpatentfiling.com/blog/patent-pools-before-the-next-pandemic