The 33rd Annual International Conference on Global Health, held May 30 – June 2 in Washington D.C., featured several panels and plenary sessions that emphasized innovative partnerships and private sector engagement as promising developments in the fight against infectious diseases.
On June 2, Nina Schwalbe, Director of Policy, explained the creative approaches to improving global health taken by the TB Alliance. She told those attending the panel on “Building a Better Pipeline: Accelerating New Drug Development and Access,” that Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) like the TB Alliance use their resources to fill the gaps in drug development for diseases where new cures are needed.
"We take things," said Ms. Scwalbe, "that pharmaceutical companies have left on the shelf, and we pull them into preclinical, and then clinical trials. We take things that are stopped in research because they are not profitable and pull them along the drug pipeline."
"What makes us different," Ms. Schwalbe continued, "is that we’re committed to making sure that new drugs are produced and distributed at cost. We are a virtual company, doing virtual R&D. We focus on Affordability, Accessibility, and Adoption. We work in close partnerships with academia, industry and endemic countries, as well as with advocates, people with the disease, and service providers. We know what we need to do, so we find partner organizations and help pay to do it."
Also on the panel were Jana Armstrong, of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative; and Chris Hentschel, from the Medicines for Malaria Venture. Javid Syed, from Treatment Action Group, moderated the discussion.
The Conference on Global Health is organized each year by the Global Health Council (GHC), of which the TB Alliance is an organizational member. The GHC is the world's largest membership organization dedicated to improving global health.