Wipo Re Search Advancing Product Development For Neglected Infectious Diseases Through Global Public Private Partnerships

WIPO Re:Search Consortium unites public and private market forces to address neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), malaria, and tuberculosis (TB) through sharing of intellectual property across sectors and geographies. To date, WIPO Re:Search has catalyzed over 150 R&D collaborations and managed capacity-building fellowships for scientists across sub-Saharan Africa and other low- and middle-income regions. This publication highlights seven exciting collaborations that are advancing solutions to help over one billion people who suffer from NTDs, malaria, and TB.

WIPO Re:Search is a global public-private consortium that accelerates drug, vaccine, and diagnostic research and development (R&D) to address unmet medical needs for neglected infectious diseases and drive progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Established in 2011, WIPO Re:Search catalyzes royalty-free sharing of intellectual property—including compounds, data, clinical samples, technology, and expertise—among Consortium Members in targeted, mutually beneficial R&D collaborations. This publication contain stories of collaborations established through WIPO Re:Search from 2016 to 2019.

WIPO Re:Search aims to catalyze the development of medical products for neglected tropical diseases, malaria and tuberculosis through innovative research partnerships and knowledge sharing.

"The presence, or absence, of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can be seen as a proxy for poverty and for the success of interventions aimed at reducing poverty. Today, coverage of the public-health interventions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) against NTDs may be interpreted as a proxy for universal health coverage and shared prosperity - in short, a proxy for coverage against neglect. As the world's focus shifts from development to sustainable development, from poverty eradication to shared prosperity, and from disease-specific goals to universal health coverage, control of NTDs will assume an important role towards the target of achieving universal health coverage, including individual financial risk protection. Success in overcoming NTDs is a "litmus test" for universal health coverage against NTDs in endemic countries. The first WHO report on NTDs (2010) set the scene by presenting the evidence for how these interventions had produced results. The second report (2013) assessed the progress made in deploying them and detailed the obstacles to their implementation. This third report analyses for the first time the investments needed to achieve the scale up of implementation required to achieve the targets of the WHO Roadmap on NTDs and universal coverage against NTDs. INVESTING TO OVERCOME THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES presents an investment strategy for NTDs and analyses the specific investment case for prevention, control, elimination and eradication of 12 of the 17 NTDs. Such an analysis is justified following the adoption by the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly in 2013 of resolution WHA6612 on neglected tropical diseases, which called for sufficient and predictable funding to achieve the Roadmap's targets and sustain control efforts. The report cautions, however, that it is wise investment and not investment alone that will yield success. The report registers progress and challenges and signals those that lie ahead. Climate change is expected to increase the spread of several vector-borne NTDs, notably dengue, transmission of which is directly influenced by temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and climate variability primarily through their effects on the vector. Investments in vector-borne diseases will avoid the potentially catastrophic expenditures associated with their control. The presence of NTDs will thereby signal an early warning system for climate-sensitive diseases. The ultimate goal is to deliver enhanced and equitable interventions to the most marginalized populations in the context of a changing public-health and investment landscape to ensure that all peoples affected by NTDs have an opportunity to lead healthier and wealthier lives."--Publisher's description.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an ambitious roadmap for human progress. This brochure explains how WIPO's work supports the SDGs by enabling innovation for the economic, social and cultural development of all countries.

This study has emerged from an ongoing program of trilateral cooperation between WHO, WTO and WIPO. It responds to an increasing demand, particularly in developing countries, for strengthened capacity for informed policy-making in areas of intersection between health, trade and IP, focusing on access to and innovation of medicines and other medical technologies.

This report is a retrospective of the work accomplished by the Organization during the two terms of office of Director General Francis Gurry, from 2008 to 2020.

This publication celebrates the first 10 years of WIPO Re:Search, a public-private partnership now spanning over 40 countries to catalyze innovative early-stage research and development (R&D) for neglected tropical diseases, malaria and tuberculosis. It looks back at the accomplishments of the partnership and its scientific network of over 150 members, which by sharing resources and expertise is collaborating to improve the global health landscape. WIPO Re:Search is administered by WIPO in collaboration with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH).