R&D incentives for neglected diseases.

ABSTRACT: Neglected diseases are typically characterized as those for which adequate drug treatment is lacking, and the potential return on effort in research and development (R&D), to produce new therapies, is too small for companies to invest significant resources in the field. In recent years various incentives schemes to stimulate R&D by pharmaceutical firms have been considered. Broadly speaking, these can be classified either as 'push' or 'pull' programs. Hybrid options, that include push and pull incentives, have also become increasingly popular. Supporters and critics of these various incentive schemes have argued in favor of their relative merits and limitations, although the view that no mechanism is a perfect fit for all situations appears to be widely held. For this reason, the debate on

SUBMITTER: Dimitri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3526606 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature