Solving the Research Gap

Learning Objectives:

During this tutorial we will cover:

• What the 90/10 gap is and why it occurs
• The ‘research gap’ of access to essential medicines
• What we mean by ‘neglected’ and ‘tropical’ diseases
• What we mean by ‘blockbuster’ drugs and why they are so popular in pharmaceutical research
• The pharmaceutical industry’s reasons for not investing in neglected diseases
• Some of the mechanisms available to solve the ‘research gap’

In 2006, the pharmaceutical company Novartis filed a complaint to the Indian courts over the Indian Patent Office’s denial of a patent for its drug Glivec.[i]  In Thailand, again in 2006, Abbott withdrew its drugs from the Thai market following the Government’s decision to use compulsory licensing for a number of its AIDS drugs.[ii]

Finally, to give a more general example, the international medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were quoted in 2000, saying that

“when life-saving medicines are unaffordable because of high prices resulting from exclusive marketing rights (patents), intellectual property protection threatens people’s health”.[iii]

As strong advocates of stronger patent laws for drugs and as the guardians of the majority of research for drugs, pharmaceutical companies may have a direct effect on public health.

The above examples highlight the fact that the pharmaceutical industry often plays a very important role in promoting, or preventing, access to medicines.

It is undoubtedly not just the job of pharmaceutical companies to ensure that the right medicines reach those in need of them – a commitment is also needed from governments and organisations in all countries - yet the industry must play its part, if access to essential medicines is to become the reality for people across the world.

This tutorial will examine a number of issues: first of all we will look at the research gap that has been described – most of the medical research that takes place in the world takes place for the benefit of more well-off populations.  Next we will look at the reasons for this, and why the pharmaceutical industry explains the lack of research for poor countries.  Lastly we will look at some of the solutions for this and what will realistically work to solve the problem of a lack of research for certain diseases.

Start the module

[i] Mueller JM. Taking TRIPS to India – Novartis, Patent Law and Access to Medicines. The New England Journal of Medicine 2007, 356(6):p.541-543.

[ii] See Module 1 on TRIPS for more information.

[iii] Perez-Casas C, Chirac P, Berman D, Ford N. Access to fluconazole in less-developed countries. Lancet 2000, 356:2102.