60 research outputs found
New Drugs for Neglected Diseases: From Pipeline to Patients
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative is a new, public- sector organization dedicated to drug discover
Simplifying and adapting antiretroviral treatment in resource-poor settings: a necessary step to scaling-up.
Designing Drugs for Parasitic Diseases of the Developing World
McKerrow outlines three new strategies, all originating within academic centers, that provide a new drug pipeline for treating parasitic diseases
Drugs for neglected diseases: a failure of the market and a public health failure?
Infectious diseases cause the suffering of hundreds of millions of people, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. Effective, affordable and easy-to-use medicines to fight these diseases are nearly absent. Although science and technology are sufficiently advanced to provide the necessary medicines, very few new drugs are being developed. However, drug discovery is not the major bottleneck. Today's R&D-based pharmaceutical industry is reluctant to invest in the development of drugs to treat the major diseases of the poor, because return on investment cannot be guaranteed. With national and international politics supporting a free market-based world order, financial opportunities rather than global health needs guide the direction of new drug development. Can we accept that the dearth of effective drugs for diseases that mainly affect the poor is simply the sad but inevitable consequence of a global market economy? Or is it a massive public health failure, and a failure to direct economic development for the benefit of society? An urgent reorientation of priorities in drug development and health policy is needed. The pharmaceutical industry must contribute to this effort, but national and international policies need to direct the global economy to address the true health needs of society. This requires political will, a strong commitment to prioritize health considerations over economic interests, and the enforcement of regulations and other mechanisms to stimulate essential drug development. New and creative strategies involving both the public and the private sector are needed to ensure that affordable medicines for today's neglected diseases are developed. Priority action areas include advocating an essential medicines R&D agenda, capacity-building in and technology transfer to developing countries, elaborating an adapted legal and regulatory framework, prioritizing funding for essential drug development and securing availability, accessibility, distribution and rational use of these drugs
The drug and vaccine landscape for neglected diseases (2000–11): a systematic assessment
Background In 1975–99, only 1·1% of new therapeutic products had been developed for neglected diseases. Since
then, several public and private initiatives have attempted to mitigate this imbalance. We analysed the research and
development pipeline of drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases from 2000 to 2011.
Methods We searched databases of drug regulatory authorities, WHO, and clinical trial registries for entries made
between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 31, 2011. We defi ned neglected diseases as malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases,
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs; WHO defi nition), and other diseases of poverty according to common defi nitions.
Findings Of the 850 new therapeutic products registered in 2000–11, 37 (4%) were indicated for neglected diseases,
comprising 25 products with a new indication or formulation and eight vaccines or biological products. Only four
new chemical entities were approved for neglected diseases (three for malaria, one for diarrhoeal disease), accounting
for 1% of the 336 new chemical entities approved during the study period. Of 148 445 clinical trials registered in
Dec 31, 2011, only 2016 (1%) were for neglected diseases.
Interpretation Our fi ndings show a persistent insuffi ciency in drug and vaccine development for neglected diseases.
Nevertheless, these and other data show a slight improvement during the past 12 years in new therapeutics development
and registration. However, for many neglected diseases, new therapeutic products urgently need to be developed and
delivered to improve control and potentially achieve elimination
Finding Cures for Tropical Diseases: Is Open Source an Answer?
The Tropical Disease Initiative will be a Web-based, community- wide effort where scientists from the public and private sectors join together to discover new treatment
Research in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: The Médecins Sans Frontières/epicentre Experience
Vincent Brown and colleagues review Epicentre's 20 years of experience conducting research during complex humanitarian emergencies
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Compulsory licensing and access to drugs
Compulsory licensing allows the use of a patented invention without the owner's consent, with the aim of improving access to essential drugs. The pharmaceutical sector argues that, if broadly used, it can be detrimental to innovation. We model the interaction between a company in the North that holds the patent for a certain drug and a government in the South that needs to purchase it. We show that both access to drugs and pharmaceutical innovation depend largely on the Southern country's ability to manufacture a generic version. If the manufacturing cost is too high, compulsory licensing is not exercised. As the cost decreases, it becomes a credible threat forcing prices down, but reducing both access and innovation. When the cost is low enough, the South produces its own generic version and access reaches its highest value, despite a reduction in innovation. The global welfare analysis shows that the overall impact of compulsory licensing can be positive, even when accounting for its impact on innovation. We also consider the interaction between compulsory licensing and the strength of intellectual property rights, which can have global repercussions in other markets beyond the South
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