Bank of England
I found this in Clinton Emails WL
Who Owns MERS-CoV?
In June 2012, a microbiologist in Jeddah sent blood samples from a
patient with unexplained pneumonia to ErasmusMedical Center, the
Netherlands, which identified a novel coronavirus later confirmed
as MERS-CoV. Erasmus then shared samples with multiple laboratories under material transfer agreements, contracts for transferring pathogens. Erasmus filed for patents on the use of the
MERS-CoV gene sequence. TheKingdom ofSaudiArabiawarned that
the microbiologist violated national rules and that Erasmus acted
unethically.8
Following Indonesia’s refusal to share influenza A(H5N1),WHO
adopted the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework in May
2011, governingvirus sharing. This framework, however, fails to cover
noninfluenza pathogens. Impediments to virus sharing, restrictive
material transfer agreements, and patents can impede research on
novel pathogens.InMay 2013,Dr Chan stated, “No [intellectual property] should stand in the way of you, the countries of the world, to
protect your people.”8 Yet there remain substantial holes in international rules needed to facilitate critical research.