Letter from TB Community re: Intellectual Property Rights to Sutezolid
7 May 2015
The letter urges Johns Hopkins to assure the timely and responsible development of TB drug candidate sutezolid if transferring any intellectual property rights to Sequella.
On May 7, 2015 the Global TB Community Advisory Board (TB CAB) and Treatment Action Group (TAG) sent an open letter to Johns Hopkins urging the institution to assure the timely and responsible development of TB drug candidate sutezolid if transferring any intellectual property rights to Sequella.
The letter stresses that Johns Hopkins is in a unique position to ensure that sutezolid is advanced rapidly through clinical trials, including in combination with other potential new drugs, and that it is widely available and affordable should it prove safe and efficacious in clinical trials.
The letter also requests that Johns Hopkins allow representatives of TB-affected communities to comment on the terms of any agreement with Sequella before it is finalized. “TB is a public health problem, and its potential solutions should not be hidden in private dealings.”