UAEM Executive Director Featured in Higher Ed Dive on Using March-In Rights to Improve Access
December 17, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In August, the Trump administration began a comprehensive review of Harvard University’s patents derived from federally funded research. With this move, the federal government positioned themselves to take ownership of these patents or licenses under the Bayh-Dole Act.
In “What’s at stake as the Trump administration targets Harvard’s patents?” published on December 15, Higher Ed Dive explores the implications of the Trump administration seizing patents from universities, and features comments from Justin Mendoza, UAEM Executive Director, on the government’s use of march-in rights:
Are march-in rights ever appropriate? When it comes to influencing drug availability and pricing, the answer is a resounding yes, according to Justin Mendoza, executive director for Universities Allied for Essential Medicines’ North American operations.
If you’re not going to produce this drug in a reasonable way, the government can march in and make sure you do, said Mendoza.
It could make sense to use march-in rights to stave off a major health crisis, he said. If the federal government were to march in on the intellectual property granted on a prescription drug product, for instance, it could use its power to grant additional licenses to competitors.
March-in rights can be used to spur competition, bolster generic drug manufacturing markets (including manufacturing jobs) and drive down the costs of medicines all at the same time,” Mendoza explained.
Universities are a “pivotal player” in the biomedical pipeline, and most receive some sort of federal funding, Mendoza said. As a result, it’s important for universities to be good-faith partners with industry, and he described government march-in rights as a potential “check on the system” when it comes to affordability and access with drug innovations.
For further reading on how the Bayh-Dole Act should be used for access, see UAEM’s blog, Taxpayers deserve the benefit of the bargain: Use the Bayh-Dole Act for access, not a political agenda.