A new report co-authored by Manhattan Institute senior fellow
Benjamin Zycher, and Joseph DiMasi, and Christopher-Paul Milne,
researchers from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug
Development, examines case histories for thirty-five important
pharmaceutical innovations. Skeptics of the private industry assert
that the development of new medicines is most attributable to
publicly funded sources.
As Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of The New England Journal
of Medicine, remarked : « Innovation comes mainly from NIH-supported
research in academic medical centers. The drug companies do almost
no innovation. »
In this new study, the authors debunk this assertion and argue that
the private sector plays a critical role in drug development.
Key findings include:
– NIH-sponsored research tends to be concentrated on the basic
science of disease biology, biochemistry, and disease processes,
the goal of which is to identify biologic targets that might prove
vulnerable to
drugs yet to be developed.
– Private sector contributions are weighted heavily toward the
appliedscience of discovering ways to pursue treatments and cures
for adverse medical conditions.
The authors conclude that NIH-sponsored and private-sector drug
research are complementary to one another and are equally necessary
in order to provide patients with better care and treatment.
Benjamin Zycher, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan
Institute’s Center for Medical Progress. He writes extensively on
economic and political effects of government regulation and
taxation. His research interests include health care policy and the
pharmaceutical sector.
Joseph A. DiMasi, Ph.D., is Director of Economic Analysis at the
Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development at Tufts University.
His research interests include drug development and regulatory
review processes, the impact of policies and practices to speed the
development and review processes for new drugs, as well as other
matters relating to the economics of the pharmaceutical
industry.
Christopher-Paul Milne, D.V.M., M.P.H., J.D., is Associate Director
at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development at Tufts
University. His research interests include the role of outsourcing
in drug development, issues relating to the research and
development of new treatments, specifically those for serious and
life-threatening illnesses, rare disorders and conditions, and
neglected diseases of the developing world. He also studies
regulatory and policy initiatives related to the Critical Path
Initiative.
Sources : Gilbert Mertens, USA
Read the report (47 pages)