Advancing groundbreaking scientific research for neglected diseases relies on advocating for the incentives biopharmaceutical companies need to justify taking a risk on new drug, vaccine, and diagnostic development.

At BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), we design and help drive the incentives that provide a return on investment to companies willing to commit their research and development efforts to combating diseases of the developing world.

Policies in Practice

BVGH worked closely with global health partners, the U.S. government, and the biopharamaceutical industry to shape and promote these incentives:

• Priority Review Vouchers (PRVs) – Any organization that gains FDA approval for a drug used to treat a neglected tropical disease is rewarded with a voucher that speeds up the approval process for a future drug.
• Advance Market Commitments (AMCs) – Donor-sponsored funding agreements guarantee innovators a set price for developing medicines for neglected diseases (provided that those medicines meet certain pre-set criteria).

New Solutions

PRVs and AMCs are critical to stimulating research and development, but they are just a beginning—the first small steps toward solving the current global health crisis. We are currently working on designing new solutions to attract small- and mid-sized biotechnology companies, such as “pay for success” milestone based incentives for innovation before they have reached the final stage in their research.