The Final Countdown
| Late-breaking developments for the Partnering for Global Health Forum
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As we count
down the final days until the 2010 Partnering for Global Health Forum, we are
thrilled to share some late-breaking developments that will add to the
excitement and significance of the meeting. If you're
not planning on being with us in Chicago
next week, BIO
Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) has a way for you to participate in the day's
events. We have contracted with The
Production Network to produce a live Dynamic Webcast of the Forum. On Monday, May 3, you'll be able to follow this link - http://pgh2010.dynamicwebcasting.net/ - to watch all of the action live. The
Dynamic Webcast of the Partnering for Global Health Forum will allow viewers to
get involved from the comfort of their homes or offices, by submitting
questions online and in real-time to the moderators and panelists. Speakers at the meeting will also generate
polling questions that the in-person and online audiences will have a chance to
answer. This Webcast ensures that even
if you can't be at the Partnering for Global Health Forum, you won't have to
miss a moment of the meeting! Speaking of
the action on stage, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Regina Rabinovich,
Director, Infectious Diseases, Global Health Program, Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, will deliver the opening keynote address. At the Gates Foundation, Dr. Rabinovich
oversees the development and implementation of strategies for the prevention,
treatment, and control of diseases of particular relevance to global health,
including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other neglected diseases. She previously held positions at the U.S.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and served as Director of
the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. She will be
followed in the morning by a special announcement on increasing access to medicines in the developing world from Jim Greenwood, President
and CEO, BIO, and David Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Fabrizio Bonanni, Executive Vice President,
Operations, Amgen Inc. and Chair of the BIO Board's Standing Committee on Intellectual Property will also make a few remarks. The day will
begin early on May 3, with registration opening at 7:30 AM and breakfast
beginning at 8:30 AM. We'll close the
day with a networking cocktail reception at the Lakeside Center. To get the most up-to-date information on the
panels and plenary session, please visit the Forum Web site at pgh.bio.org. Online
registration for the Forum is now closed, but you may still register for the
meeting by completing and submitting this form. If you haven't already made your travel
plans, lodging information and discounts are available through the BIO
International Convention. More
information is available here. BVGH will be around the entire
week of the BIO convention to continue the conversations that we begin on
Monday, and discuss ways that companies can contribute to global health. You can find us in the Exhibition Hall in Booth #4737, and at the Business Forum in Suite #S-7. Melinda Moree,
BVGH's CEO, will be speaking on two panels during the week, and we are also holding
a press briefing as well as information sessions on the Pool for Open
Innovation for Neglected Tropical Diseases. To find us throughout the week, you can view a schedule of BVGH
activities here. We
look forward to meeting you in Chicago! We believe that through the Partnering for
Global Health Forum and partnering activities at the BIO International
Convention, we will move neglected disease product development one step
further, and define a way to collectively move from where we are today to a
healthier global population. |
The Company You Keep
| Dr.
Hannah Kettler discusses the importance of involving all global health
stakeholders to solve the problems of the world's poorest.
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Dr. Hannah Kettler is Senior
Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and as grantor has
been with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) since its inception. BVGH spoke with Dr. Kettler to get her
thoughts on the Partnering for Global Health Forum, the panel she will be
moderating there, and how BVGH is doing after almost six years.
Q: You are moderating a panel on incentives at the
Partnering for Global Health Forum. What
do you hope comes out of this discussion?
A: I think the conversations about incentives that are useful are
ones that go beyond
talking about the problems -- the lack of a market or the risk -- and
get more
into the details of how we actually solve those problems. For instance,
what's the combination of
revenue enhancing and risk mitigating tools that you can use? That
detailed discussion has to consider what
the CEO of a company needs to hear, what a researcher needs to
understand, and what a funder needs. You have to line up all of the
stakeholders
involved in solving the problem, and work down to the micro-level.
People
persist in great generalities around encouraging companies to do x, but
we don't really get into the
details of when we want them to do x or
at what volume or quality. Companies in
particular have been pretty poor at communicating back what it would
take to
get them involved. We need to have an
earnest conversation about what it would really take and if the
companies are
really serious about engaging in global health. I feel there has been a kind of guessing game going on between the
funders
and companies, which doesn't lead us to appropriate solutions.
Q: What is of most value to the Gates Foundation or
other funder attendees at the Partnering for Global Health Forum?
A:I think
there is a great opportunity to be introduced to a broad set of companies that
we wouldn't be aware of otherwise. We get
to know these companies in a way that's different from meeting them one by one
or through a typical grant proposal process. Whether on the panels, where a set of companies are speaking, or the
partnering process at the Business Forum, there's a chance to talk to a number
of companies who may work in an area that we are interested in. That's a unique value.
I believe
that getting to hear the companies' perspective is always beneficial. It's also important to get new industry
voices speaking out on panels. Historically
there have been about ten faces in the industry that are associated with global
health. To convince funders that industry
interest is more than the ten people they have already met, it's essential to get some new people up
there on the stage and hear their experiences and motivations. This will help
increase funders' understanding of both the opportunities and the challenges
that industry offers. The Partnering for
Global Health Forum is one way BVGH has increased that understanding.
Q: As our program officer at the Gates Foundation, you've
watched BVGH evolve over the years. Where
do you see us heading in the future, particularly under new leadership?
A: BIO
Ventures
for Global Health was initially a concept that the Gates Foundation
developed together with BIO and others. We
recognized that a whole industry existed that did not know about global
health.
We needed to change that. I genuinely feel six years later that the
level of awareness has been greatly enhanced and - though not
exclusively
because of BVGH - it's due in great part to BVGH.
So we've
made a lot of progress in terms of awareness. I'm not sure that we've converted enough of that awareness into
action. The challenge for BVGH is to
figure out what programs, tools, and activities it can put in place to
have the
greatest impact. What can the
organization do to help convert companies into active participants? I
remain personally convinced that BVGH needs
to maintain a policy arm and really push the creation of smart
incentives that
are responsive to what biotech companies need. I think BVGH is uniquely placed to get company voices involved in the
development of better incentives for biotech.
I do
genuinely believe that we've only started to identify the value that a
team
like BVGH can add to a company's efforts to participate in global
health. I still think the concept is sound. I think what we need to do
to demonstrate its
real value is increase the list of active company participants that are
doing
more than just going to meetings, but are also investing some of their
funding in
global health.
Q: How does BVGH's work fit into the overall
strategy of the Gates Foundation?
A: Relationships
with the private sector are a critical piece of what the Foundation has always
been about because of our commitment to new products and technologies and how
critical they are to improving the health of the world's poorest. There remains within our leadership a
conviction that the biotech industry has something important to add in terms of
new technologies, new platforms, new processes, and new ways of doing business
that ideally could be transferred to the global health space. Because the biotech industry is so big and there
are so many companies of various sizes, it's not possible for the Foundation to
operationally manage those relationships ourselves. Having a strong partner in BVGH to serve as
our intermediary is essential.
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Information Sessions @ BIO
| Pool for Open Innovation For Neglected Tropical Diseases
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) will
be hosting an additional information session on the Pool for Open
Innovation
for Neglected Tropical Diseases for interested companies on Thursday, May 6, at 10 AM. The meeting will
provide an overview of the
Pool, including the core objectives, structure, and current resources.
If you are
an academic research center interested in learning more about the Pool,
there
will be an information session on Wednesday, May 5, at 3 PM.
Both
sessions will be held in the BVGH Suite #S-7 at the BIO Business Forum. To
attend
one of the information sessions, please RSVP to rstefanakis@bvgh.org.
| Access to Medicines Strategies
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) will
be co-hosting an information session with the Clinton Health Access Initiative
(CHAI) on opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to achieve their corporate
objectives through the appropriate design of Access to Medicines Strategies. CHAI will describe their model of engaging
pharmaceutical companies to achieve their access objectives and, using case
studies of their experience, will describe both successful and failed
interventions to enhance access.
The
session will be held in the BVGH Suite #S-7 at the BIO Business Forum. To attend, please
RSVP to pmehta@bvgh.org.
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BVGH's Diagnostics Innovation Map Now Available
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As part of
its mission to save lives by accelerating the development of novel
biotechnology-based drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics, BIO Ventures for Global
Health is committed to helping companies develop and launch innovative
diagnostics for the developing world. Our new report, The Diagnostics Innovation Map: Medical Diagnostics for the Unmet Needs of the Developing World, outlines groundbreaking technologies that are paving the
way for rapid, accurate diagnoses in poor countries.
For
more information, please contact BIO Ventures for Global Health at info@bvgh.org. An electronic version of the
report can be found at http://www.bvgh.org/Biopharmaceutical-Solutions/Diagnostic-Solutions.aspx.
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There is still time to register for the 2010 Partnering for Global Health (PGH) Forum!
Visit the Forum Web site at pgh.bio.org for more information.
Registration will remain open through 4:00 PM on Monday, May 3.
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Follow us on Twitter at PGH and BIO!
Get the latest updates and catch all of the action by following the BVGH team around PGH and the Convention next week.
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BIO Ventures for Global Health is a non-profit organization whose mission is to save lives by accelerating the development of novel biotechnology-based drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to address the unmet medical needs of the developing world. |
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Board of Directors
Carl B. Feldbaum, Chairman
President Emeritus, BIO
Robert B. Chess
Chairman, Nektar Therapeutics
James A. Geraghty Senior Vice President and Officer, Genzyme CorporationJames C. Greenwood
President, BIO
Donald R. Joseph Chief Operating Officer, BVGH
Vaughn M. Kailian
General Partner, MPM Capital
Melinda Moree, PhD
CEO, BVGH
J. Leighton Read, MD
Partner, Alloy Ventures
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