MIT, Technology Innovation Agency join patent pool

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and South Africa's Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) joined the patent pool for tropical diseases launched by GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK) last year. TIA plans to use the available IP to focus initially on developing medicines for tuberculosis and malaria. MIT plans to contribute patents to the pool, which already contains more than 2,300 patents. Not-for-profit BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) administers the pool.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY), iThemba Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Modderfontein, South Africa) and not-for-profit Emory Institute for Drug Discovery (EIDD) already participate in the pool (See BioCentury Extra, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010). ...