Global Access to Medicines Principles

Technologies commercialized through Innovate Calgary have the potential to advance health, protect the environment, and promote sustainability.

In order to maximize impact, Innovate Calgary will endeavour to adhere to the following Global Access Principles*:

1. To enhance the economic and societal impact of medical innovations from the University of Calgary;
2. To extend these impacts to broader global settings; and
3. To ensure fair access to these technologies for relevant communities.

With these Global Access Principles in mind, we have identified seven strategies that will enable Innovate Calgary to adhere to this vision:

1. Endeavour to ensure that low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have access to Innovate Calgary medical research innovations through negotiated global access terms wherever appropriate.
2. Support access to medicines and ‘health-related technologies for all’ as a primary purpose of technology transfer of health-related innovation.
3. Use commercialization models that help preserve future research and innovation.
4. Use the Medicines Patent Pool, and similar initiatives with a public commitment to access, where appropriate.
5. Facilitate future innovation by patenting only when necessary to promote commercialization, utilizing non-exclusive licensing, creating streamlined processes for materials transfer and reserving broad rights to use licensed technology in future research.
6. Promote field-of-use and jurisdictional limitations in exclusive licenses to improve access for those in LMICs.
7. Support public/private partnerships to develop new technologies to benefit the resource-poor populations, including those in LMICs

*These principles were adapted from Universities Allied for Essential Medicines’ Global Access Licensing Framework, by Dr. Asha Hollis and Dr. John Wilson.