The Africa APPG & APPG on Global Health

‘Ebolanomics’ – a pharmaceutical question

Dr Egeruan Babatunde ImoukhuedeJenner Institute

University of Oxford, UK

Panel discussion topics

• What are the main barriers that have prevented earlier development of treatment and how can they be overcome?

• How can research and development into emerging infectious diseases be better incentivised and what role is there is for pharmaceuticals?

• What actions need to be taken to support an African pharmaceutical industry?

• What needs to be done to redesign the current business model and what would that model look like?

What are the main barriers that have prevented earlier development of treatment and how can they be overcome?

• High cost of new vaccine development • Emphasis on high profit margins by big pharma• Lack of technology transfer – pre-clinical and vaccine

design• Lack of adequate bio manufacturing facilities that

will respond to regional pandemics in a timely manner

• Intellectual Property Issues – months/years to resolve

• Leadership

How can research and development into emerging infectious diseases be better incentivised and what role is there is for

pharmaceuticals?

• Political will and appropriate intervention• Injection of government funding into

developing vaccines for regional outbreak pathogens

• Tax incentives/breaks• Technology transfer with active participation

by academia and big pharma

What actions need to be taken to support an African pharmaceutical industry?

• Organisation and co-ordination• Political will – designate vaccines for outbreak

pathogens in resource poor countries as a “public good”• Efficient collaboration with research organisations, pre-

clinical research organisations, in-country pharmaceutical organisations

• Technology transfer• Improved technical and engineering capacity• Regulatory and ethical support and collaboration• Tax incentives

What needs to be done to redesign the current business model and what would that model look like?

• What is the current business model?• Suggested strategy that should be regionally driven but

coordinated by WHO: - International collaboration with emphasis on technology transfer for pre-clinical studies, vaccine design and biomanufacturing- Develop a pipeline of new vaccines for regional outbreak pathogens - Develop vaccine candidates to proof of concept (Phase I/II) CTs- Generate a moderately sized emergency stockpile of vaccines for specific regional outbreak pathogens

Last word – Some other Outbreak Pathogens to watch out for!

• Rift valley fever virus

• Chikungunya virus

• Marburg virus

• MERS coronavirus

• Pandemic influenza

• Ebola virus – changing virulence and

epidemiology

* Slide from Prof Adrian VS Hill - Oct 2014

• Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus

• Enterovirus 71 • Hendra virus • Lassa virus • Monkeypox virus • Nipah virus • SARS coronavirus • Venezuelan equine

encephalitis virus • West Nile virus