Tackling neglected diseases
May 18, 2012
THE International Federation of
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and
Associations (IFPMA) has this week
released a major report which
urges a range of collaborative
mechanisms to progress the
development of medicines for
neglected and tropical diseases.
The report, titled Assembling the
pharmaceutical R&D puzzle for
needs in the developing world, has
found that some arrangements
designed to encourage companies
to commercialise these drugs, such
as prizes or patent pools, may not
be as effective as other measures.
Instead it suggests open
databases, grants, public-private
partnerships and advanced market
commitments, with the outcomes
strongly backed by Medicines
Australia ceo Brendan Shaw.
“The fact that the global industry
has commissioned a report like this
shows how seriously it takes the
issue,” he said, with combating
neglected and tropical diseases
remaining a “key priority for the
global medicines industry”.
“The report says tat
fundamentally the existing R&D
model is effective, but needs to
continue to adapt to changing
social and economic
circumstances,” he added.
Shaw said that internationally the
industry is already increasing its
research effort into the area at a
faster rate than contributions from
other sectors such as governments
and non-profit groups.
“We are eager to continue
working with the broader
community to ensure treatments
for these diseases are available in
developing countries.
“The industry is serious about
finding collaborative solutions that
drive the development of new
medicines and vaccines for the
developing world and ensure that
people can ultimately benefit from
these developments,” he added -see
the report at bit.ly/IFPMAtropical.
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