Comment Neelie (Kroes)

Open sharing of research data will allow large-scale investigations that no single institution or country could ever afford. This has been brilliantly evidenced by the success of the human genome sequencing project following the decision to openly share the raw sequences through GenBank. In the future, open access to raw data from publicly funded research needs to be mandated by funding bodies in all fields of science. We also need to improve mechanisms to promote the sharing of research data and code, in addition to publications.

We really need access to privately funded research too. If a drug is to be licensed for use, where's the evidence to support that licence? There's a difficult nut to crack there. Private research underpins commercial advantage and we shouldn't destroy that, but we do need to know about the experiments that failed just as much those that succeeded.

If it is to server more than curiosity (i.e. progress and development), the IPR regime and terms need to be clear and agreed from the start. Patent pools are an essential tool in this. Has to be a one-stop-shop.