Public-sector research has had an immediate effect on improving public health: Study

AUTM President Ashley Stevens, D. Phil. (Oxon), CLP is the lead author of The Role of Public Sector Research in the Discovery of Drugs and Vaccines, a paper published in the Feb. 10 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The study by Stevens, researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine, Law and Management, the Radium Hospital, Oslo, along with collaborators from the National Institutes of Health led by senior author , Mark L. Rohrbaugh, Ph.D., J.D., that finds public-sector research has had a more immediate effect on improving public health than was previously realized. The researchers found that during the past 30 years, 153 new FDA-approved drugs, vaccines, or new indications for existing drugs were discovered through research carried out in public sector research institutions (PSRIs). These drugs included 93 small-molecule drugs, 36 biologics, 15 vaccines, eight in-vivo diagnostic materials, and one over-the-counter drug.

"We believe that our study supports the concept that the emergence of biotechnology in the mid-1970s, combined with the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act, allowed these institutions to play an important role in the downstream, applied phase of drug discovery," said Stevens.

The Bayh-Dole Act is an enduring example of a public-private sector partnership addressing a common problem-- turning taxpayer funded research into products the public can use, along with creating jobs and new companies. As a result, U.S. taxpayers enjoy access to products making their lives healthier while spurring economic growth.

Since the enactment of Bayh-Dole, more than 7,000 new companies have formed around university research. In fiscal year 2009 alone, 658 new products from university technologies were introduced to the marketplace. While no drugs were developed from federally owned patents before its passage, since Bayh-Dole's enactment 153 new drugs, vaccines or in vitro devices are now protecting health around the world. Bayh-Dole is also credited for creating the U.S. biotechnology industry. For more information about the Bayh-Dole Act, visit www.b-d30.org.