填空题
[A] Many of the partnerships act as virtual pharmaceutical companies,
bringing together expertise from far afield. The Drugs for Neglected Diseases
initiative, for example, has drawn together basic research from academics in
Venezuela, molecules from Japanese and French drugmakers, clinical trials in
Ethiopia and manufacturing by Brazilian firms.
[B] However, it is not just poor countries that are missing out. For example, there is an urgent need for new antibiotics in industrialised countries as drag-resistant bacteria emerge. Yet antibiotic development—once the cornerstone of the drug industry—has fallen out of favour with Big Pharma firms because of scientific hurdles and regulatory requirements.
[C] A few big drugmakers, such as GSK and Novartis, which inherited an interest in tropical disease from their parent firms, have chosen to invest in at least early-stage R&D in malaria, tuberculosis and dengue, with a view to partnering later on. They are motivated mainly by philanthropy, but also want to polish their image and hope to sell to travellers and to a rising middle class in developing countries.
[D] Ask a big drug-company boss why he is in the business of making pharmaceuticals, and he will say he wants to "address unmet medical needs". But not all medical needs are equally attractive. Most of the 7,500-plus medicines currently in development by biotech and pharmaceutical companies are for chronic diseases of the rich world. At the same time. some of humanity's nastiest afflictions get little attention. Tropical diseases, such as sleeping sickness or leishmaniasis, are a turn-off for drugmakers because they strike mainly in poor countries and offer little hope of an attractive return on investment. Of the 1.500 or so drugs launched over the past 30 years, fewer than 20 deal specifically with tropical disease.
[E] The question is how to get the products out of the pipeline and to the people who need them. Development costs can be lower than in Big Pharma, in part because clinical trials for diseases such as malaria can be smaller, faster and therefore cheaper to run than for. say, Alzheimer's disease. Even so. Christopher Hentschel head of the Medicines for Malaria Venture. reckons it will cost at least $100 to bring just ode of its products to market, so much more money is needed.
[F] One way of getting attention for neglected diseases is for patients to take action. For example, the ALS Therapy Development Foundation. started by James Heywood, whose brother was struck down by this neurodegenerative disease, is using its modest budget to test hundreds of compounds in mice and men m the hope of finding a treatment for ALS.
[G] Another route is to launch public-private partnerships. Drug companies contribute molecules, manpower and machines to not-for-profit groups that co-ordinate product development, funded mainly by private sources such as the Gates Foundation, with some government money. There are now about 20 such partnerships, focused on developing new drugs, vaccines or diagnostics for particular diseases of the developing world that will make them accessible to poor populations.
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[B] However, it is not just poor countries that are missing out. For example, there is an urgent need for new antibiotics in industrialised countries as drag-resistant bacteria emerge. Yet antibiotic development—once the cornerstone of the drug industry—has fallen out of favour with Big Pharma firms because of scientific hurdles and regulatory requirements.
[C] A few big drugmakers, such as GSK and Novartis, which inherited an interest in tropical disease from their parent firms, have chosen to invest in at least early-stage R&D in malaria, tuberculosis and dengue, with a view to partnering later on. They are motivated mainly by philanthropy, but also want to polish their image and hope to sell to travellers and to a rising middle class in developing countries.
[D] Ask a big drug-company boss why he is in the business of making pharmaceuticals, and he will say he wants to "address unmet medical needs". But not all medical needs are equally attractive. Most of the 7,500-plus medicines currently in development by biotech and pharmaceutical companies are for chronic diseases of the rich world. At the same time. some of humanity's nastiest afflictions get little attention. Tropical diseases, such as sleeping sickness or leishmaniasis, are a turn-off for drugmakers because they strike mainly in poor countries and offer little hope of an attractive return on investment. Of the 1.500 or so drugs launched over the past 30 years, fewer than 20 deal specifically with tropical disease.
[E] The question is how to get the products out of the pipeline and to the people who need them. Development costs can be lower than in Big Pharma, in part because clinical trials for diseases such as malaria can be smaller, faster and therefore cheaper to run than for. say, Alzheimer's disease. Even so. Christopher Hentschel head of the Medicines for Malaria Venture. reckons it will cost at least $100 to bring just ode of its products to market, so much more money is needed.
[F] One way of getting attention for neglected diseases is for patients to take action. For example, the ALS Therapy Development Foundation. started by James Heywood, whose brother was struck down by this neurodegenerative disease, is using its modest budget to test hundreds of compounds in mice and men m the hope of finding a treatment for ALS.
[G] Another route is to launch public-private partnerships. Drug companies contribute molecules, manpower and machines to not-for-profit groups that co-ordinate product development, funded mainly by private sources such as the Gates Foundation, with some government money. There are now about 20 such partnerships, focused on developing new drugs, vaccines or diagnostics for particular diseases of the developing world that will make them accessible to poor populations.
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