Conference highlights private sector’s role in global health
Leaders stress science, innovation, and partnerships for new tools
Over the past 30 years, technology has revolutionized the health care available to patients in the developed world. The private sector has played a huge role in this health revolution—for example, a recent analysis in Nature Review found that more than 65 percent of innovative drugs have been discovered in biotechnology companies. In the developing world, however, millions die each year because they do not have the right vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and other tools for neglected diseases. For this reason, it is critical to engage the private sector in research and development (R&D) for new global health tools. Earlier this week, the Partnering for Global Health Forum 2011 brought together leaders in the private sector and other key arenas—from biopharmaceutical companies, academic researchers, product development partnerships, private-sector investors, and public-sector donors—to examine challenges and opportunities in global health R&D.
Although the private sector is a critical player in this effort, conference participants stressed that the private sector cannot solve global health R&D challenges alone. For instance, because essential health products are primarily needed in the developing world, where patients and health providers may not be able to afford them, commercial incentives are often insufficient to stimulate large-scale and long-term investment by the biopharmaceutical industry. During the conference, Robynn Sturm from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) discussed the role of incentive mechanisms to break through these barriers. She said that prizes—awarded to a biotechnology company or other group for the discovery and development of new products—are an attractive option to donors because they only pay for results. Sturm added that prizes are attractive because donors would not have to decide in advance which groups have the most promise in developing a tool. Forum co-host BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) also presented on its milestone prize, an incentive mechanism that encourages biotechnology companies to develop global health products. Designed in stages, companies receive “milestone” awards along the way as they move through the product development process.
Other speakers highlighted the role of the US Government in encouraging and supporting private-sector engagement in global health. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), gave the keynote address at the forum. Collins said that global health is a priority for the agency because even in tight budgetary times, scientific advances and new technologies can help make incredible health gains. Along those lines, the NIH is leading an effort in new and translational medicine, Collins said. He added, “We are repurposing and rescuing ideas” and that NIH programs are searching through developed compounds that could be useful in treating several diseases. “NIH can play the role of matchmaker in this regard,” and partnerships are a key component of this effort, according to Collins.
Also at the forum, Rajiv Shah, administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), praised the efforts of the biotechnology sector to harness science and innovation to develop new health tools for the developing world. He added that even in today’s constrained budget environment, impact can be achieved through science and innovation. In particular, public-private partnerships can improve innovations for global health, Shah said, adding that such partnerships are a top priority for the Obama Administration. Both the public and private sectors have invaluable knowledge and tools to offer global health R&D. For example, product development partnerships—which leverage expertise from private industry, donors, and nongovernmental organizations—have recently launched 13 new global health tools. And several new groundbreaking tools are in the pipeline, such as a new drug candidate for the neglected tropical disease African sleeping sickness. The development of the new compound was the result of a unique collaboration between Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company in California, SCYNEXIS, a drug discovery and development company based in North Carolina, and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, a nonprofit organization that develops new drugs to address the needs of the world’s most neglected populations. Shah said that more of these types of partnerships are needed to usher in even more breakthroughs in public health around the world.
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