5 - Aligning Vaccine Innovation with Public Health Needs

Summary

So far, the book has explored different problems in the life cycle of a vaccine. First, it surveyed the pathways to bring new vaccines to market against a backdrop of lacking incentives to R&D, in spite of the recognized public health value of vaccines and the widespread use of intellectual property rights as an incentive to vaccine R&D. Second, it examined the allocative disparities that result from the commodification of vaccines, especially in situations of product scarcity, in which lower-income populations often face considerable hurdles in obtaining access to vaccines. This section examines possible solutions to alleviate these problems. It considers proposals that would take effect at the incentives level, by increasing funding for vaccine-related R&D work; proposals that would operate at transactional level, facilitating the transfer of vaccine technology through the use of patent pools and patent pledges; and proposals to expand and fine-tune the role of vaccine-dedicated public–private partnerships as instruments for the promotion of equitable access to vaccines by populations irrespective of their socioeconomic status.