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16 October 2015Americas

BIO Latin America: GSK says companies must recognise first inventor

A director of a research initiative pioneered by pharmaceutical company GSK has said that recognising the initial owner of intellectual property is at the heart of its priorities.

Isro Gloger, a director of GSK’s Trust in Science programme, an initiative designed to build a long-term scientific research presence in Latin America and abroad, said that not recognising the first inventor would get companies nowhere.

Gloger was speaking yesterday, October 15, at the BIO Latin America conference, currently taking place in Rio de Janeiro.

Through Trust in Science, which was launched in 2011, GSK seeks partnerships with research groups, universities and academics to support projects and make new medicines available to patients.

According to GSK, it wants to create strong collaborations with “outstanding” scientific groups in South America in a creative way, “which includes a two-way exchange of knowledge, technologies, skills, training and information”.

Two research centres, one in Argentina researching oncology treatments and one in Brazil dedicated to immuno-inflammation, have recently opened as a result of the programme, Gloger said.

On IP, he said: “We believe first and foremost that IP belongs to the person who discovers the invention.

“Whenever we make a partnership we have to be respectful of IP; researchers are the key people who make things work.”

However, GSK does have the option of first commercialising any potential discoveries.

“This is an agreement we have with all our partner groups,” said Gloger.

Four matters must be considered before entering into a partnership, Gloger said: relevance to patients, quality of the science, a collaborative working model, and building long-term trust.

Both in Brazil and Argentina, GSK has worked with government research funding agencies to increase funding for projects.

In Brazil, it has partnered with the Council of Science and Technology and the Sao Paulo State Foundation of Science and Technology, while in Argentina it has worked with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The BIO Latin America conference, hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, runs from October 14 to 16 at the Sheraton Rio Hotel & Resort.


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15 October 2015   The US’s consul general in Rio de Janeiro has urged the US and Brazilian governments to work together to tackle the long delay in biotechnology-related patents being granted at Brazil’s intellectual property office.
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16 October 2015   A counsel for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has said that recent court decisions, including Ariosa v Sequenom, will create a bar to innovation.

More on this story

Americas
15 October 2015   The US’s consul general in Rio de Janeiro has urged the US and Brazilian governments to work together to tackle the long delay in biotechnology-related patents being granted at Brazil’s intellectual property office.
Americas
16 October 2015   A counsel for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has said that recent court decisions, including Ariosa v Sequenom, will create a bar to innovation.