September News from BIO Ventures for Global Health

Wendy Taylor, founder of BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), was recently named Senior Advisor, Innovative Finance and Public Private Partnership at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). We spoke with Wendy about this exciting development and what the new innovative financing arm of USAID may mean for bringing biopharmaceutical innovation to global health research and development.

Q: Congratulations on your new position at USAID. You managed to accomplish quite a lot during your time at Malaria No More, so we're excited about the momentum you are bringing to the Obama Administration. Can you tell us about your position and what you hope to accomplish?

This summer I was brought on board at USAID to help launch the President's $63 billion Global Health Initiative, with a specific focus on bringing the benefits of innovative financing, public private partnerships, and innovation to global health programs, government-wide. It's an exciting time to join both the Administration and USAID. Just this last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, the President emphasized that, while we have made real progress against many of the Millennium Development Goals, we ultimately will not succeed unless we start to tackle these problems in new ways. A key part of that vision, underlined by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, is a greater emphasis on innovation, and that includes investment in game-changing technologies. To spur that innovation, part of our task going forward will be to coordinate strategically with the many players that bring a diverse set of tools to the table. We also need to make sure that innovations can get out of the lab and benefit the world's poor by using our tremendous purchasing power to create incentives for producers and by pursuing strategies that improve regulatory systems and smooth the path for product uptake in the developing world.

Q: Your title includes innovative financing. There are a lot of initiatives and proposals out there that are aimed at spurring innovation for global health. Are there particular initiatives or types of financing structures that you think will have a greater impact?

This is such an important area of focus and one that will benefit from continued creative thinking from multiple sectors -- including the companies, academics, and NGOs with whom you regularly interact. What's clear is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for big pharma may not work for mid- or small-sized biotechs. And what works for vaccines may not work for drugs or diagnostics. There are some good tools now, including an Advance Market Commitment and priority review vouchers, and there are some intriguing ideas that have been put forth over the last few years. We encourage continued thinking on how best to develop the mechanisms that can help tap the tremendous resources that biotechs and pharma companies have to offer global health.

Q: You were integral to the work that BVGH initially did in advocating for the FDA Priority Review Voucher (PRV) program. Given that you were involved with this idea from the beginning, how do you see the proposed bill to amend the PRV legislation affecting the program?

I can't comment on the bill specifically, but I can emphasize that this is one of the truly novel incentives to emerge in recent years. It will be important to ensure that the program has a chance to fully mature and operate in the marketplace. BVGH is playing an important role in helping make that happen. There are also intriguing ideas under consideration that build on the PRV concept. The USPTO just issued a notice seeking comment on a proposal to offer patent holders who make their technology available for humanitarian purposes a voucher entitling them to an accelerated re-examination of a patent. Like PRVs, this voucher could be traded in the marketplace.

Q: As the founder of BIO Ventures for Global Health, you obviously support the idea that we need to engage more biotech companies in the effort against neglected tropical diseases. Generally speaking, how has your thinking on how best to engage companies evolved over time?

The global health R&D landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade -- spurred in large part by robust philanthropic and public sector support, entrepreneurial product development partnerships, and forward thinking leaders and scientists within industry. There are now many more companies at the table who are leading the charge in the pursuit of new vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics that meet the needs of the developing world. Their reasons for engaging have also changed. While corporate social responsibility may have dominated decision making not that long ago, companies are now finding ways to make engaging in global health product development in their business interest. This has been, and continues to be, a critical ingredient for meaningful industry engagement. We still have a ways to go, and we need to continue to encourage others to come to the table, but the tremendous movement in the field is exciting. The possibilities for progress in the field over the next decade are truly remarkable.