A new coalition for sharing pharma IP takes aim at the
increasing burden of neglected tropical diseases in the
developing world. According to the World Health Organization,
neglected tropical diseases affect more than one billion of the
world’s poorest 2.7 billion people. Many of these diseases,
which can cause blindness and other debilitating symptoms, have
reached endemic levels in 149 countries and territories. In a
difficult-to-break cycle, such diseases are born in poverty-
stricken areas, and then shackle patients to that poverty when
symptoms prevent populations from working; and of course, the
cost of treatment compounds the issue. A new consortium of
public and private sector organizations spearheaded by the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)—dubbed WIPO
Re:Search—aims to promote the development of new vaccines,
drugs, and diagnostics to treat neglected tropical diseases
through intellectual property (IP) sharing. Organizations
committed to the new consortium include pharma players AstraZ