I’m more than enthusiastic about this moment at BVGH. Thanks to hard groundbreaking work by others over the last four and a half years, the biotech industry is now poised for significant involvement in neglected diseases of the developing world. Getting to this point was no mean feat for BVGH. The good intentions and will were there–many biotech CEOs come from academia, non-profits, and other organizations where they witnessed first-hand the health burden borne by the poorest among us. But there were (and still are) barriers between that goodwill and committing a technology-rich but often cash-strapped company to the quest for a new drug for populations that simply cannot afford them.

I represented the biotech industry in Washington, D.C. for almost 12 years, but I confess I never fathomed the internal dynamics of an individual company until I left Washington and began to serve as a director on a couple of biotech boards. That’s where I witnessed first-hand the economic and other pressures that cause companies and their shareholders to (excuse the hackneyed expression) “go for the gold,” i.e. to develop the best drug, a “blockbuster” for an expansive population that can pay, typically in North America, Western Europe, and/or Japan. For the record, I did not invent this system, and won’t apologize for it. BVGH has thus far worked rather successfully with the system as it is — diplomatically, but with no sugarcoating.

Chagas, dengue, and leishmaniasis are hardly household words in the U.S., and there are so many other killers abroad — in addition to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria– which we assume Americans have heard and care about. The latent strength of the biotech industry to deal with these diseases lies in what I’ll call its discovery diversity–there are 4400 companies out there at last count. BVGH has now identified many of the barriers to new drug development for neglected diseases, created an innovation map and specific business cases, and detailed the direction, guideposts, and milestones needed to get us further down this road.

The “dots” are now there to follow, but it won’t be easy–it’s more akin to putting together a 1000-piece puzzle. We can do it. I believe we’re on the verge of a transformation, and I feel lucky as the new chairman to both ride and help guide this fast-building wave.

Carl Feldbaum, Chairman, BVGH Board of Directors