Inclusive Innovation
Demanding that universities and governments prioritize the neglected health needs of people, not profit, in research and drug development.
Build an R&D system that meets the needs of people
Demand our institutions prioritize neglected health needs of people, not profit, in research funding and drug development. Through open science, regional manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, and new drug discovery and development models, we must build a system that meets the needs of people, not profit-driven business models.
The biomedical research and development (R&D) system serves profit over people. Despite the global crisis of high drug prices, R&D investments continue to focus on medicines that can be sold at high prices leaving much needed medicines undeveloped.
Diseases that primarily affect low- and middle-income countries are systematically neglected because they promise little return. This is a failure of both the market and public policy, and because most new drug research begins in publicly funded universities and research institutions, it is a failure our institutions have the power to correct.
We push for open science so that scientists everywhere can build on publicly funded knowledge. And we advocate for regional manufacturing, public financing of R&D, and alternative R&D models that will help build a system that centers people. Through projects on clinical trial reporting and research-cost transparency, UAEM documents how public research is actually conducted and used, building the evidence base for reform.
Universities and public research institutions sit at the very start of the innovation pipeline. What they choose to study, how they license and share their findings, and the funding models they accept impact the entire global system for developing medicines. That upstream position gives the university community leverage and responsibility to make innovation more inclusive.