World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Dr.
Margaret Chan recently stated: "Ebola emerged nearly four decades ago. Why
are clinicians still empty-handed, with no vaccines and no cure? Because Ebola
has historically been confined to poor African nations. The R&D incentive
is virtually non-existent. A profit-driven industry does not invest in products
for markets that cannot pay." Dr. Chan
noted that "My budget is highly earmarked, so it is driven by what
I call donor interests."
A study in The Lancet
of medical products registered in 2000-11 revealed that "Only four new
chemical entities were approved for neglected diseases (three for malaria, one
for diarrhoeal disease), accounting for 1% of the 336 new chemical entities
approved during the study period."
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