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The two parties fought over who exactly owned patent rights of the drug but the president cleared the air when he said it belongs to Prof. Ogwang.
Addressing the nation on Friday, July 30, the president said they had briefed him about the arguments around the ownership.
When he listened to the arguments from both sides, he ruled that the patents and trademarks belong to the scientist who discovered them.
‘’If the institutions that employ these scientists want to benefit from their innovations, they should levy a sort of tax, what the technology transfer experts refer to as sharing of royalties,’’ he said.
In addition to that, he said even then much of the proceeds should go to the inventor so that our scientists are encouraged to discover more. More still, he said we must protect the intellectual property rights of the scientists involved.
Previously, the president had asked the lawyers suing Prof. Ogwang over Covidex ownership to stop.
The president’s intervention comes after Mbarara University claimed intellectual Property Rights for Covidex.
The university Vice Chancellor, Prof. Celestino Obua said they manufactured the drug on their premises and used public funds. Consequently, he said the drug belongs to the university.
Prof. Ogwang revealed that Jena Herbals Limited has the capacity to manufacture 30,000 bottles of Covidex per day. He further revealed that each bottle is sold at Shs7, 000.
High demand for the drug erupted about a month ago when the Ministry of Health approved Covidex as an additional treatment for Covid-19.
Check Also;
- Prof. Patrick Ogwang Applies For Covidex Trademark Ownership
- Professor Patrick Ogwang Threatens To Sue Mbarara University For Claiming Ownership Of Covidex
- National Drug Authority Advises Ugandans On How To Use Covidex
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