Big pharma can only see the benefit of R&D for wealthy markets

There is too little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to work on treatments for diseases of low-income countries

At the end of April, health workers in Malawi, Ghana and Kenya began rolling out the first and so far only vaccine proved to protect against malaria. It’s part of a World Health Organization pilot programme that could immunise more than one million children by 2023. Yet, while this is a welcome step in the fight against malaria, it also exposes the problems in developing vaccines for use in non-western countries.

The vaccine, called RTS,S, prevents malaria in only 40% of cases. It has taken more than 30 years to develop and cost more than $700m. The manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, proclaimed itself "incredibly proud to see it rolled out", but added: "This kind of endeavour can’t be repeated, from GSK’s point of view." That’s because all drug research and development is based on a model of a multinational charging high prices for products tailored to wealthy markets. As there is little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to conduct R&D for diseases that affect populations with limited purchasing power, a report for Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières observes, so "some diseases continue to be unaddressed by vaccines altogether, while many vaccines are not well-adapted for people in developing countries".

There are about 240 vaccines in early stages of development for diseases that predominantly affect people in non-western countries. Yet only a handful have in recent years made it through the pipeline for use in low-income countries. It’s an indictment of a system in which profit talks but needs are neglected.

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