The Global Health Unit at WIPO has launched the IP for Medical Innovation and Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (CoE), a flagship program that aims to strengthen regional medical innovation and manufacturing by helping innovators to harness intellectual property (IP) systems to bring health technologies to market more quickly and at scale.
The CoE was launched with an intensive two-day training on June 23-24, organized in partnership with the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN), an alliance of vaccine manufacturers from developing countries. The training-- which brought together 15 participants from 11 manufacturers from Asia, Africa and Latin America-- was shaped by a targeted needs assessment and focused on practical strategies for using IP to support vaccine development, production and distribution.
Amy Dietterich, Director of Global Challenges Division at WIPO, David Reddy, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), and Rajinder Suri, Chief Executive Officer of DCVMN International, opened the event by highlighting the role of IP in stimulating vaccine innovation and improving global health outcomes.
The sessions covered a wide range of topics, including challenges in early-stage innovation, protection of patents and trade secrets, branding and packaging, licensing and technology transfer, and the use of artificial intelligence in vaccine manufacturing. Experts from various WIPO divisions, as well as key external global health organizations such as the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and IFPMA, delivered the sessions and enriched the program with their expertise. Participants also explored key WIPO services such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for filing patents internationally, and the Madrid System for international trademark applications.
What’s next for the CoE?
The CoE will continue to leverage WIPO’s expertise to support regional medical innovation and manufacturing in developing countries through a unified “One-WIPO” approach. Its goal is to raise awareness of WIPO’s services and demonstrate how IP can drive innovation, commercialization, and production of medical products, including vaccines, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics. Through targeted training and technical assistance, the CoE aims to build capacity among medical manufacturers, empowering them to innovate, scale, and contribute meaningfully to public health.
About WIPO Global Health Unit
The Global Health Unit at WIPO seeks to raise awareness and understanding of the linkages among global health, innovation, and access to medical technologies. Contact us to know more.