New Biotech Non-Profit Addresses Neglected Third-World Diseases

June 6, 2004

BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), a non-profit organization, was launched at the BIO 2004 convention in San Francisco, June 6, 2004. BVGH is a collaboration between the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation and aims to meet the health needs of the developing world through the promotion and support of global health product development.

As an initial step, BVGH is creating business cases for specific developing world products; assessing market opportunities; forming partnership and financing strategies; and mapping the clinical, regulatory and distribution pathways. BVGH will promote these business cases to catalyze product development among companies with relevant technologies.