What are the different approaches currently taken and what we can learn?

Imagine…
Scientist Claire is the lead of one of the many teams within her big pharma company, all of whom are toiling day and night to develop a vaccine as soon as possible to combat the corona virus. Will they be able to put something out in time to help affected people?

Public health officer James has been asked by his superiors to find a solution for tracking those affected by the virus without compromising their privacy. Who can support him with such a solution?

Engineer Jin has supported her hardware firm to rapidly develop and deliver ventilators to the local hospitals to overcome the shortage. Can her firm do all of it on their own?

All three persons need the right resources at the right time during these desperate times. Supply chains are disrupted, local manufacturing is not ready to meet the rapidly increasing demands for healthcare items, and technology and knowledge are put at stress by the pandemic.

The world is going through a health and economic crisis. To alleviate suffering and combat the pandemic, there is an on-going race to develop vaccines and treatments. In addition, there are multiple initiatives to scale up the production of essential equipment and materials such as ventilators, masks, inhalers, development of new technologies, processes etc, to help treat affected people and save lives.

One may think, what has Intellectual Property (IP) got to do with the on-going innovative projects? Or just about anything that is going on now? We think IP plays a crucial role in the choices that governments, companies, policymakers and even citizens make during these challenging times, because a lot depends on the delicate balance that should be maintained between establishing access to and the protection of IP. Who knows and owns what? How can that be put to use during this time of crisis?

The key question is: where to start now to beat Covid-19? Claire, James, and Jin are looking for solutions. Answers to which lie in the Innovation and IP strategy they and their organizations would choose.

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