Partnerships for better neglected disease drug discovery and development: how have we fared?

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In the field of neglected disease, mushrooming partnerships have changed the landscape in the last decades. With high diversity in participants, type, scope, and operational models, partnership becomes the ultimate choice for drug discovery and development. This paper aims to reflect on this phenomenon based on experiences and lessons learned, providing insights for the future.

Areas covered: Lack of safe and effective drugs for neglected diseases stems from market and public policy failure. Combining resources, skills, and expertise justifies working collaboratively in the R&D quest. The advancement of public–private partnerships (PPP), including product development partnership (PDP) for neglected diseases, is described, herein, including the rationale behind their conception, evolution, expansion, and alternative approaches. The author also discusses the appeals and the pitfalls of partnership in this field.

Expert opinion: The progressive partnerships in drug discovery and development for neglected diseases need to be encouraged, especially in alignment with an open science culture. Experiences in partnerships vary with bias for successful ones, rendering more rigorous evaluation and research necessary. Eventually, the focus of improving partnership should not only be on addressing discovery bottlenecks, but also safeguarding access and delivery. Expanding focus to include vaccines and diagnostics is necessary.

KEYWORDS:

• Public-private partnership
• product development partnership
• neglected diseases
• access
• innovation

Article highlights

• Neglected Tropical Diseases or poverty-related diseases suffer from market and public policy failure in its R&D with lack of safe and effective medicines to treat them.

• Partnership approach in the forms of PPPs or PDPs has emerged organically and driven by necessity.

• Partnerships have evolved since the 1990s – in the scope, funding, participants – as well as the outcome.

• Critical factors that define the success or failure of PPPs exist but rarely illuminated and used as guidance moving forward.

• Partnerships for NTDs will remain relevant and needs to ensure that innovation and access are well balanced.

This box summarizes the key points contained in the article.

Acknowledgments

T Sunyoto would like to express his gratitude to Marleen Boelaert for her continued guidance and support.

Declaration of interest

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This manuscript has not been funded.