How Broad Institute is sharing research, data, findings, and technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic

To allow for broad and equitable access to research, data, and innovations during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Broad Institute is joining with institutions around the world in articulating principles for making knowledge and tools widely, openly, and rapidly available.

Sharing access to technology

Broad Institute has joined the “COVID-19 Technology Access Framework” organized by Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. This sets a model by which critically important technologies that may help prevent, diagnose, or treat COVID-19 infections may be deployed for the greatest public benefit without delay.

COVID-19 Technology Access Framework
We strongly believe that while intellectual property rights can often serve to incentivize the creation of new products, such rights should not become a barrier to addressing widespread, urgent and essential health-related needs. To address the global COVID-19 pandemic, we are each implementing technology transfer strategies to allow for and incentivize rapid utilization of our available technologies that may be useful for preventing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. To achieve our common goal, we each individually commit to the following guidelines:

We are committed to implementing COVID-19 patenting and licensing strategies that are consistent with our goal of facilitating rapid global access. For most types of technologies, this includes the use of rapidly executable non-exclusive royalty-free licenses to intellectual property rights that we have the right to license, for the purpose of making and distributing products to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19 infection during the pandemic and for a short period thereafter. In return for these royalty-free licenses, we are asking the licensees for a commitment to distribute the resulting products as widely as possible and at a low cost that allows broad accessibility during the term of the license. 

We are committed to making vigorous efforts to achieve alignment among all stakeholders in our intellectual property, including research sponsors, to facilitate broad and rapid access to technologies that have been requested to address the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We are committed to making any technology transfer transactions related to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic our first priority, and to minimizing any associated administrative burdens. 

Sharing data and knowledge

Broad Institute is also a signatory to the global “Sharing research data and findings relevant to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak” statement, organized by The Wellcome Trust. 

We commit to help ensure:

• All peer-reviewed research publications relevant to the outbreak are made immediately open access, or freely available at least for the duration of the outbreak

• Research findings relevant to the outbreak are shared immediately with the WHO upon journal submission, by the journal and with author knowledge

• Research findings are made available via preprint servers before journal publication, or via platforms that make papers openly accessible before peer review, with clear statements regarding the availability of underlying data

• Researchers share interim and final research data relating to the outbreak, together with protocols and standards used to collect the data, as rapidly and widely as possible - including with public health and research communities and the WHO

• Authors are clear that data or preprints shared ahead of submission will not pre-empt its publication in these journals