Emerging markets are quickly becoming a powerhouse in spurring global health research and development, according to the closing panel at the first day of the Partnering for Global Health Forum.

"By 2013, almost 50 percent of the growth of the pharmaceutical industry will come from emerging markets," said David Campbell, Senior Principle at IMS Health. "We should not forget that there is already an industry set up, running, and driving much of the growth in these markets."

"We are seeing a paradigm shift. Emerging markets are not only acting as absorbers and consumers of medicines, but are also having a more active role in being a source of innovation to fulfill those pipelines," added Gabriela Cezar, Venture Partner at Burrill & Company.

Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, Chair of the Board for the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in South Africa, emphasized that collaboration allows local players to use the best technology and processes to move products from the early phase of discovery right through the chain.

"Without local partners, multinational companies cannot tap into the [emerging economy] markets," Ramphele said. "South Africa represents both a multiplicity of activities inside the border and as a gateway into the continent. It is not simply a question of what the 'North can do for the South,' but what can we achieve through North-South collaboration to fast track the developments of new drugs and to mine the huge market opening up."

At BIO Ventures for Global Health, we can't wait to find out the answer.