."" he told BBC China that this did not represent the possibility of the virus being "completely ruled out" from entering the population due to a laboratory accident.[15]
The NY Times reported that a team led CCP by Shi Zhengli at the Institute were the first to identify, analyze and name the genetic sequence of the Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and upload it to public databases for scientists around the world to understand,[6][7] and publishing papers in Nature.[8] In February 2020, the Institute applied for a patent in China for the use of remdesivir, an experimental drug owned by Gilead Sciences, which the Institute found inhibited the virus invitro;[9] in a move which also raised concerns regarding international intellectual property rights.[10] In a statement, the Institute said it would not exercise its new Chinese patent rights "if relevant foreign companies intend to contribute to the prevention and control of China’s epidemic".[11] The Institute was rumored as a source for the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak as a result of allegations of bioweapon research,[12][13] which was debunked as a conspiracy theory by The Washington Post in a piece titled: "Experts debunk fringe theory linking China’s coronavirus to weapons research".[5][12] The Post cited U.S. experts who explained why the Institute was not suitable for bioweapon research, that most countries had abandoned bioweapons as fruitless, and that there was no evidence that the virus was genetically engineered.[5][12] In February 2020, The Financial Times reported from virus expert and global lead coronavirus investigator, Trevor Bradford, who said that "The evidence we have is that the mutations [in the virus] are completely consistent with natural evolution".[14] During January and February 2020, the Institute was subject to further conspiracy theories, and concerns that it was the source of the outbreak through accidental leakage,[15] which it publicly refuted.[16] Members of the Institute's research teams were also subject to various conspiracy theories,[17][18] including Shi, who made various public statements defending the Institute.[19] While Ebright refuted several of conspiracy theories regarding the WIV, he told BBC China that this did not represent the possibility of the virus being "completely ruled out" from entering the population due to a laboratory accident.[15]
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