Invest. Engage. Save.

Rss

Expert Insight

Posted by: BIO Ventures for Global Health on 11/24/2009 | 0 Comments
Last week’s Global Forum for Health Research meeting in Havana featured many talks about technology innovation. Buzzwords such as “capacity building,” “technology transfer,” and “innovation networks” were bandied about. Surprisingly, however, true product innovators were dramatically underrepresented at the meeting.
Categories: Meetings

Social Studies

Posted by: BIO Ventures for Global Health on 11/23/2009 | 1 Comment
I’m just returning from the Global Forum for Health Research meeting in Havana, Cuba. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Innovating for the Health of All.” As a veteran of the biotechnology industry I thought I knew something about innovation. After all, innovation has been the engine behind the emergence of biotechnology worldwide from a cottage industry in the late 1970s to a vital force for improving health care and building national wealth. But I encountered a new and puzzling use of the term innovation, in the form of “social innovation” to address global health needs.
Categories: Meetings

Evaluating PDPs

Posted by: BIO Ventures for Global Health on 11/20/2009 | 0 Comments
Can product development partnerships (PDPs) deliver? This was the question tackled during a session at this week’s Global Forum for Health Research in Havana. The presentations actually spoke little to the topic—perhaps because PDPs are taking on some of the biggest scientific challenges of our time such as developing a HIV vaccine, a tuberculosis vaccine, and broad-spectrum anti-virals. But it is a question worth asking.

Innovation For All

Posted by: BIO Ventures for Global Health on 11/18/2009 | 0 Comments
Havana? Yes, I’m blogging from Havana, where I am attending the Global Forum for Health Research Annual Conference. This year’s theme—“Innovating for the Health of All”—is perfectly in line with our goals at BVGH to bring capable innovators and technological know-how to global health research and development. Even more exciting, the Forum’s location in Cuba is drawing attention to Latin America at exactly the right moment.
Categories: Meetings
Page:

Blog Home
  
  

Recent Comments

by php flash chat on Speed Dating to Save Lives
"It was my first visit to your blog, but I admire time and effort you put into it! I have enjoyed reading many of your articles, looks like you are a professional writer! Well done! James, " Read more »

by simon on The Most Important Hire in Global Health
"I'd like to comment on the fact that the term "cost-effective" vaccines is not meaningful, since cost-effectiveness always depends on the Willigness to Pay of a given coutnry (which WHO recommends to be 1-3xGDP per capita). E.g. while in UK a medicines/vaccine that has incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 43,000-130,000 USD/QALY will be considered "cost-effective", it will not be the case in India where the threshold is 1-3xGDP=1,000-3,000 USD/QALY. It means that the same vaccine would need to be 43x cheaper in India than in UK to be cost-effective. I believe that the future of developing countries will depend on their ability to develop vaccines locally and sell them at local prices. I am currently involved in a research project in India which aims at understanding the challenges of entrepreneurship and its role in affordable healthcare in the future. Best regards " Read more »

by Mark H on Trademark of Innovation
"Often the pharmaceutical companies are seen as evil because they do not do enough to help the poor by giving away medicines or licence rights. But we must consider two things: 1 they are commecial companies and have legal obligations towards their shareholders i.e. their prime concern is making money 2 these companies invest a vastly greater amount of money in R&D than the government. As a result their R&D occasionally finds cures inadvertently for other diseases - even if they are not actively trying to create the right medicine. So how do you create an incentive for the most effective creator of new innovative cures whose primary goal is to make money (like all companies)? Well the answer seems obvious - reward them with tax benefits that would help push them above their competitors. Whilst you could argue that this would prevent the government from reaping the benefits (tax) you could also say that the competition created would drive innovation and spending in the private sector which would improve the economy. A win win win situation - pharmaceuticals, government, developing countries!" Read more »

  

Tag Cloud