The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in an unprecedented collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) and NIH, has launched WIPO Re:Search, a new consortium where public and private sector organizations share valuable intellectual property (IP) and expertise with the global health research community to promote development of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to treat neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and tuberculosis.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), neglected tropical diseases today impair the lives of an estimated 1 billion people. By providing a searchable, public database of available intellectual property assets, information, and resources, WIPO Re:Search facilitates new partnerships with organizations that conduct research on treatments for neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and tuberculosis.

The founding eight pharmaceutical companies, WIPO, BVGH, and NIH are joined by a distinguished group of globally recognized institutions as providers, potential users, and supporters of WIPO Re:Search. BVGH will manage the WIPO Re:Search Partnership Hub, which will facilitate relationships between the pharmaceutical company providers and new users.

More information about the new WIPO Re:Search Partnership and how to access it can be found at http://www.bvgh.org/WIPO-ReSearch-Webcast.aspx.