I-MAK Co-Founder Discusses How the COVID-19 Pandemic Shed Light on Racial Inequities and Using the Patent System to Reduce Drug Prices

Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK) Priti Krishtel shares her thoughts on how the COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to structural healthcare inequities. She also notes that modernizing the patent system is critical in fairly distributing prescription drugs. She calls on President Joe Biden to immediately appoint a director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

“The president has prioritized filling other important positions, and should not delay his choice any further on this agency. Business as usual just won’t cut it – we need a new vision to bring the USPTO into the 21st century to advance equity and fundamentally shift the status quo to one that is finally focused on the public interest.” Read more here.

(Source: Priti Krishtel, Morning Consult, 7/20/21)