Tag Archives: epidemiology

The G7 nations are apparently setting up another effort to entice drug companies to work on unprofitable diseases:

The UK and other leading industrialised nations are setting up a £750m ($1.5bn) fund to speed up the development of new vaccines for use in poorer countries.

The plan is to subsidise the future purchase of vaccines in the hope this will galvanise drug firms into action.

A vaccine for pneumococcal disease is the first target.

A jab already exists, but developing countries need a tailored version which firms have been slow to invest in as there is no guaranteed market.

This is an example of a “pull” incentive, guaranteeing a market for the putative vaccine by committing rich countries to buy a certain amount once it’s developed. This contrasts with “push” efforts, which fund the research up front. The idea of “pull” systems is that drug companies will invest their own money in development if they perceive that there’s going to be a market for the final product. By guaranteeing an artificial market in the future, we can reap the benefits of corporate research without having to put taxpayers’ cash on the table until the products are ready.

It’s a neat idea, and drug company executives publicly laud it. Privately, however, they consistently admit that their own company probably won’t do it. Developing a new vaccine can take a decade or more, and there’s a tremendous risk that politicians yet to be elected will balk at honoring the expensive promises of their predecessors. Also, the governments involved have to be willing to pay the companies a suitable profit margin beyond their basic development costs, which would inevitably become a political lightning rod.

On the other hand, as the ongoing problems with “push” efforts like the Bioshield project show, there’s clearly a need for some alternative. It’s just not clear that pulling will be any more successful. Continue reading →