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Non-profit Drug Research and Development at a Crossroads

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Abstract

In wealthy nations, non-profit drug R&D has been proposed to reduce the prices of medicines. We sought to review the ethical and economic issues concerning non-profit drug R&D companies, and the possible impact that their pricing strategy may have on the innovation efforts from for-profit companies targeting the same segment of the pharmaceutical market. There are two possible approaches to pricing drugs developed by non-profit R&D programs: pricing that maximises profits and “affordable” pricing that reflects the cost of manufacturing and distribution, plus a margin that ensures sustainability of the drug supply. Overall, the non-profits face ethical challenges - due to the lack of resources, they are unable to independently commercialize their products on a large scale; however, the antitrust law does not permit them to impose prices on potential licensees. Also, reduced prices for the innovative products may result in drying the for-profit R&D in the area.

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Abbreviations

AFM-Telethon:

Association Française contre les Myopathies

CFF:

US Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

DNDi:

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative

MA:

Marketing authorization

PDP:

Product development partnerships

R&D:

Research and development

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND DISCLOSURES

Authors declare no conflicts of interest or sources of funding related to the topics presented in the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Public Health Department – Research Unit EA 3279, Aix-Marseille University, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille, France

    Szymon Jarosławski, Mondher Toumi & Pascal Auquier

  2. Claude Bernard University, Laboratoire Parcours Santé Systémique EA 4129, Lyon, France

    Claude Dussart

  3. Faculté de Médecine Laennec, Université de Lyon, 7-11 rue Guillaume Paradin, 69372, 08, Lyon Cedex, France

    Claude Dussart

Authors
  1. Szymon Jarosławski
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  2. Mondher Toumi
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  3. Pascal Auquier
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  4. Claude Dussart
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mondher Toumi.

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Jarosławski, S., Toumi, M., Auquier, P. et al. Non-profit Drug Research and Development at a Crossroads. Pharm Res 35, 52 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-018-2351-3

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