Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - September 6, 2006
That's the very simple idea behind a new plan to entice companies into making vaccines for illnesses that mostly kill poor people, like malaria and tuberculosis. The program will be discussed by finance officials from wealthy nations at a meeting in Rome tomorrow. It works like this: Rich countries commit to pay a specific amount to help poor countries buy a guaranteed supply of a needed, effective vaccine. The subsidy would allow the manufacturer to recoup its investment and earn a profit. The company agrees that after it has received the pledged amount, it will sell to poor countries cheaply.
A panel of experts recommended that the idea be tried first to promote a vaccine against pneumococcal disease, which kills about 1.6 million people a year, making it the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death. AIDS is making this kind of infection more common, and the bacteria are increasingly resistant to the antibiotics used to treat them.
In the last few years, researchers have tried several novel financing ideas. Many combine government and charitable financing with industrial know-how. This idea would complement the others. The Bush administration has been reluctant to join international financing mechanisms. But it has no reason not to jump on this plan, which will benefit American companies and is a private-sector, market-driven program that pays only for success.
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