Financial Times examines product development partnerships developing drugs for neglected diseases

The Financial Times examines the rise of product development partnerships (PDPs), which are "non-governmental organizations that generate their own funding and build partnerships with universities, businesses, government and patients in low-income countries to develop new drugs, vaccines, prevention techniques and diagnostics for diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, cholera and meningitis."

While the world's 15 PDPs, "most of which focus on a single 'neglected' disease that has received scant attention from big pharma, have built up an extensive range of experimental products over the past decade," they, "like many biotech companies, … have so far failed to bring many products to market," the newspaper writes. "But in partnership with companies, the PDPs seem to have established a place in helping deliver drugs, diagnostics and vaccines to the poor," the article concludes (Jack, 7/20).