May 2014
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A Note from Jennifer
Dear WIPO Re:Search Members and Friends, 

  

The past month has been bustling with activities and meetings. I traveled to Los Angeles to attend the 2014 Milken Institute Global Conference. During the event, I spoke with individuals from the NIH, IAVI, and Chevron about WIPO Re:Search and the impact that private industry and academics are having on global health. WIPO Re:Search activities and achievements were met with interest and excitement. 
 
I am happy to announce that WIPO Re:Search has reached its 60th collaboration. These 60 partnerships encompass 13 diseases, and involve 38 of our Member organizations. 
 
The 2014 BIO international Convention is next month in San Diego, CA. I will be moderating two panels: Africa: The Next Biotech Frontier? and The Changing Landscape of Industry's Engagement in Global Health. WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry, will be giving the IP Session keynote lecture and participating on the Scientific American panel, as well as in a private session coordinated by BIO and BVGH.

  

As always, please forward this Snapshot to your colleagues and reach out to us with any partnering requests or ideas. 

Sincerely,

 Jennifer Dent

President, BVGH 
 
SpecialSave the Date - 2014 WIPO Re:Search Annual Meeting

The WIPO Re:Search Annual Meeting will be held in New York City this year. The Meeting is scheduled to coincide with the 27th International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) Assembly and is tentatively set for November 6th. Stay tuned for updates as the event draws nearer.
 
noticeSpecial Notice

The 2014 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International Convention will be held June 23-26, in San Diego, California. WIPO Re:Search will be highlighted in the following panel sessions, moderated by Jennifer Dent:

 
Participants:
Robert DeBerardine,  Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Sanofi 
Wim Leereveld, CEO and Founder, Access to Medicine Index
 
 
Africa: The Next Biotech Frontier? (June 25th, 10:15am - 11:45am) 
 
Participants:
Richard Gordon, Director, Strategic Health Innovation Partnerships (SHIP), MRC South Africa
Dennis Liotta, Samuel Chandler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry, Emory University 
Solomon Nwaka, Director, African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI), World Health Organization 
statsWIPO Re:Search Statistics

  

Four new collaborations were finalized this month, including: 
 
 
Eisai will provide a set of inhibitors to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) to examine inflammation induced by Plasmodium-infected red blood cell adherence to vascular endothelial cells. 
 
 
 

 

 
 
     
Momar Ndao, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, McGill University, will provide Leonard Foster, Director, Centre for High-Throughput Biology, University of British Columbia (UBC), with frozen extracts of T. cruzi-infected and Cryptosporidium-infected cells. UBC will use these extracts to identify novel vaccine antigens for Chagas disease and cryptosporidiosis.
 
 
Horacio Bach, Adjunct Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of British Columbia, will utilize its phage display technologies to develop new antibodies against Chagas disease host biomarkers identified by Momar Ndao, McGill University. Once developed, the antibody will be incorporated into the development of a diagnostic. 
PHCPartnership Hub Central 

   

Jennifer Dent attended the 2014 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, CA. At the event, Jennifer spoke with Francis Collins, Director, US National Institutes of Health, and President Paul Kagame, President, Republic of Rwanda, about WIPO Re:Search and its partnership activities.

 

 

Jennifer converses with President Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda 

 

Last month, Katy Graef presented an overview of WIPO Re:Search and its achievements during the 2014 British Society for Parasitology Spring Meeting in Cambridge, United Kingdom. During the meeting, Katy spoke with researchers from LSTM, University of Dundee, and Kingston University, London.

 

  

 

Roopa Ramamoorthi and Katy attended the 2014 Seattle Parasitology Conference, held by Seattle BioMed. They discussed current and future research plans with researchers from Seattle BioMed and the University of Washington (UW). 

 

 

 

Wes Van Voorhis, Professor and Head, and K. K. Ojo, Research Assistant Professor, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington

 

   

 

 

Roopa and Katy met with Kim Woodrow, Assistant Professor, Dan Ratner, Associate Professor, and Charles McLien III, Director, UW Bioengineering Affiliates Program, from the UW Bioengineering department. Kim and Dan presented their research interests and priorities, and discussed their partnership interests and possible WIPO Re:Search partnerships.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

BVGH also met with Kristin Bedard, Director and Head of Virology, Chelsea Olsen, Associate Director, Program Management & Virology, and Dan Eramian, Senior VP Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, from Kineta. Kristin and Chelsea presented Kineta's antiviral and innate immune adjuvant programs and current partners, as well as their partnership interests.
 

 

 

 
HCHighlighted Contributions  
 
Featured this month are two contributions submitted by the ANDI Centre of Excellence for Malaria Diagnosis, University of Lagos, to the WIPO Re:Search Database.
 
 
In vivo and in vitro platforms to screen plant crude extracts for anti-parasitic activities are being set up. The University is willing to collaborate to develop quality crude plant extracts with anti-parasitic properties by sharing preliminary screening data.
 
  
The University of Lagos has strong capacity for malaria diagnostic evaluation. It is actively involved in research, capacity building, and diagnostic test/reagent evaluation. The University can provide Members with access to invasive (blood) and non-invasive (urine, saliva) samples to evaluate malaria diagnostics based on immunological, nucleic acid, and other platforms. 
 
 

  

For more information or to discuss potential collaborations regarding this technology, please contact Roopa Ramamoorthi.  
EventsTableUpcoming Global Health Events

Dates
Event Title
Location
Web Link
June 8 - 13
Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogenesis and Treatment of Parasitic Diseases
Newport, RI
June 23-26
2014 BIO International Convention
San Diego, CA
Jun 30 - July 2
Seventh EDCTP Forum - The Partnership Journey: New Horizon for Better Health
Berlin, Germany

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WIPO Re:Search Pharmaceutical Members
 
 *known as Merck in the US and Canada

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