Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104187

Elizabeth Ziemba, JD, MPH, SHARED Inc., One Harvard Street, Suite 303, Brookline, MA 02445-7923, 617-277-7800, E.Ziemba@comcast.net

The Dutch government contracted with the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify gaps in medicines available to treat and /or cure diseases in the European Union (EU) as well as in developing countries. This presentation summarizes the findings of the background report for the “Priority Medicines for Europe and the World” report presented to the EU by the WHO and focuses on the issue of developing medicines to fill the gap for the neglected diseases of developing countries.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) were identified as the vehicle to develop medicines for diseases for which there is little or no commercial incentive as the diseases are endemic in poor countries. An overview of public-private partnerships for these “neglected diseases” provides a profile of these entities including their number, dates of establishment, associated diseases and issues, as well as sources and amounts of funding for PPPs. The report identified the European Union's disappointing lack of support for and participation in PPPs despite the creation of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership. Consequences of the lack of greater participation were suggested. Following interviews with representatives of PPPs, recommendations for improving interaction with and support of PPPs were made. Recommendations were made to the EU to increase targeted support of PPS as well as participation in the work led by PPPs to develop medicines and vaccines for diseases of developing countries.

Learning Objectives: