The government gave up march-in rights in some Covid-19 contracts

A new report out this morning finds the U.S. government gave up its march-in rights — which, in theory, could allow federal agencies to reclaim patents in certain cases — in some of its Covid-19 research contracts.

Contracts with four companies — Janssen, Genentech, Regeneron, and Ology Bioservices — were designated as a particular type of deal known as an Other Transaction Agreement. OTAs come with a caveat: They prevent the government from being able to use march-in rights, which are a provision of the Bayh-Dole Act.

“Normally, the government has the right to ensure taxpayer-funded products can be accessed at a reasonable price, but in these OTA agreements, that’s not the case,” said Jamie Love of Knowledge Ecology International, the advocacy group that issued the report. “This means the government can circumvent laws that can be used to protect pricing.

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