Session Chairs:
Jose F. Garcia-Bustos, GlaxoSmithKline, Spain
Lisa Conte, Napopharma, USA
Pharmaceutical products and vaccines have revolutionized health care in industrialized countries during the last century. However, this progress has barely touched low-income countries where millions of people lack access to essential medicines that could potentially have a remarkable effect on the healthcare of a third of the world's population. Closing the gap between potential and reality entails action in these areas: incentives for academic and industrial R&D in diseases endemic in low-income countries; financing and distribution in resource-constrained areas; drug affordability; effective drug regulation to avoid misuse and fake drugs; and multi-stakeholder community based education, training, and sustainability planning. The panel will explore (a) industry-based solutions to drug development, registration, and distribution in developing and emerging economies; (b) community health initiatives; (c) incentives for tropical disease R&D; and (d) non-profit initiatives to provide access to essential drugs.