Scarlett Sett and colleagues address the question who owns pathogens with pandemic potential and what are the corresponding international legal obligations?
In their publication, published in the The Lancet Microbe the researchers clarify the legal status of pathogens and emphasize the role of the European Virus Archive (EVA), a biobanking infrastructure in making genetic resources available for research.
For more information see
Sett, S., Dos Santos Ribeiro, C., Prat, C., Haringhuizen, G., European Virus Archive principal investigators, Hartman Scholz, A. (2021) Access and benefit-sharing by the European Virus Archive in response to COVID-19. Lancet Microbe https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(21)00211-1