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Understanding and creating value from open source drug discovery for neglected tropical diseases
Minna Allarakhia1, Larry Ajuwon
1University of Waterloo, Faculty Department of Management Sciences, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. amallara@uwaterloo.ca
Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery
|June 5, 2012
Summary
Open source drug discovery for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) fosters collaboration and capacity building. Assessing these strategies is crucial for maximizing their impact and developing local expertise in endemic regions.
Area of Science:
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Global Health
- Open Innovation
Background:
- The health commons, or open source, involves shared knowledge assets across the health value chain.
- Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) present unique biological, chemical, and economic challenges in drug discovery and development.
- New models for open collaboration between public and private sectors are needed for NTDs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To move beyond reviewing open source strategies for NTDs to assessing their effectiveness.
- To discuss the evolution of openness in the pharmaceutical value chain.
- To develop a framework for evaluating the value and outcomes of open source drug discovery for NTDs.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of open source strategies for NTDs.
- Discussion of evolving openness across the pharmaceutical value chain.
- Development of an assessment framework for open source drug discovery in NTDs.
Main Results:
- Open source programs for NTDs can foster expert linkages and collaborations.
- Quantifying the absolute value of shared assets is challenging due to the lack of exchange markets.
- Significant potential exists for capacity development in NTD-endemic countries through these initiatives.
Conclusions:
- Open source initiatives for NTDs should prioritize expert networking, collaboration, and human capacity development.
- Stakeholders like grant agencies and private sponsors can drive initiatives linking knowledge sharing with local capacity building.
- Developing local human and technological capacity in NTD-endemic countries is a key benefit of open source approaches.
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