scholarly journals Innovation policy and the market for vaccines*

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiwei Claire Xue ◽  
Lisa Larrimore Ouellette
Keyword(s):  
Durable Goods ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Vaccine Production ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Financial Costs ◽  
Development Pipeline ◽  
Key Aspects

Abstract Vaccines play a crucial role in improving global public health, with the ability to stem the spread of infectious diseases and the potential to eradicate them completely. Compared with pharmaceuticals that treat disease, however, preventative vaccines have received less attention from both biomedical researchers and innovation scholars. This neglect has substantial human and financial costs, as vividly illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we argue that the large number of ``missing'' vaccines is likely due to more than lack of scientific opportunities. Two key aspects of vaccines help account for their anemic development pipeline: (1) they are preventatives rather than treatments; and (2) they are generally durable goods with long-term effects rather than products purchased repeatedly. We explain how both aspects make vaccines less profitable than repeat-purchase treatments, even given comparable IP protection. We conclude by arguing that innovation policy should address these market distortions by experimenting with larger government-set rewards for vaccine production and use. Most modestly, policymakers should increase direct funding—including no grants and public-private partnerships—and insurance-based market subsidies for vaccine development. We also make the case for a large cash prize for any new vaccine made available at low or zero cost.

scholarly journals A Framework to Advance the Understanding of the Ecological Effects of Extreme Climate Events

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 5954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Sanz-Lazaro
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Ecological Effects ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Climate Events

Climate change is modifying disturbance regimes, affecting the severity and occurrence of extreme events. Current experiments investigating extreme events have a large diversity of experimental approaches and key aspects such as the interaction with other disturbances, the timing, and long-term effects are not usually incorporated in a standardized way. This lack of comparability among studies limits advances in this field of research. This study presents a framework that is comprised of two experimental approaches designed to test expected changes on disturbance regime due to climate change. These approaches test the effects of disturbances becoming more clustered and more extreme. They use common descriptor variables regardless of the type of disturbance and ecosystem. This framework is completed with a compilation of procedures that increase the realism of experiments in the aforementioned key aspects. The proposed framework favours comparability among studies and increases our understanding of extreme events. Examples to implement this framework are given using rocky shores as a case study. Far from being perfect, the purpose of this framework is to act as a starting point that triggers the comparability and refinement of these types of experiments needed to advance our understanding of the ecological effects of extreme events.

scholarly journals Sales and Advertising Channels of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS): Internet, Social Networks, and Smartphone Apps

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Miliano ◽  
Giulia Margiani ◽  
Liana Fattore ◽  
Maria De Luca
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Drugs Of Abuse ◽  
Drug Market ◽  
New Psychoactive Substances ◽  
Smartphone Apps ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Psychoactive Substances ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short And Long Term

In the last decade, the trend of drug consumption has completely changed, and several new psychoactive substances (NPS) have appeared on the drug market as legal alternatives to common drugs of abuse. Designed to reproduce the effects of illegal substances like cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, or ketamine, NPS are only in part controlled by UN conventions and represent an emerging threat to global public health. The effects of NPS greatly differ from drug to drug and relatively scarce information is available at present about their pharmacology and potential toxic effects. Yet, compared to more traditional drugs, more dangerous short- and long-term effects have been associated with their use, and hospitalizations and fatal intoxications have also been reported after NPS use. In the era of cyberculture, the Internet acts as an ideal platform to promote and market these compounds, leading to a global phenomenon. Hidden by several aliases, these substances are sold across the web, and information about consumption is shared by online communities through drug fora, YouTube channels, social networks, and smartphone applications (apps). This review intends to provide an overview and analysis of social media that contribute to the popularity of NPS especially among young people. The possibility of using the same channels responsible for their growing diffusion to make users aware of the risks associated with NPS use is proposed.

scholarly journals New approaches to vaccines for endemic and pandemic diseases of Africa with particular focus on building local competencies in Cameroon

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
Vincent P.K. Titanji
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Vaccine Production ◽  
African Countries ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Recent Innovation ◽  
Development Pipeline

Vaccines have been recognized as major and effective tools for the control and eventual elimination of infectious diseases and cancer. This brief review examines vaccine classification and development pipeline as well as recent innovations driving the vaccine development process. Using COVID-19 as an example recent innovation in vaccine development are highlighted. The review ends with a call for intensified efforts to build vaccine production capacity in Cameroon and other other African  countries. Les vaccins ont été reconnus comme des outils majeurs et efficaces pour le contrôle et l’élimination éventuelle des maladies infectieuses et du cancer. Cette brève revue examine la classification et le pipeline de développement de vaccins ainsi que les innovations récentes à l’origine du processus de développement de vaccins. En utilisant COVID-19 comme exemple, les innovations récentes dans le développement de vaccins sont mises en évidence. La revue se termine par un appel à intensifier les efforts pour renforcer les capacités de production de vaccins au Cameroun et dans d’autres pays africains.

scholarly journals Digital economy of China: level and factors of development

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-36
Author(s):  
Tatiana Aleksandrovna Levchenko
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
High Level

The article considers the active development and significant impact of digital technologies on people’s lives, functioning of enterprises in various sectors of the economy and government agencies. The level of digital competitiveness is different, which determines the importance of studying and adapting the experience of countries - digital leaders with a developed and rapidly growing digital economy of China. There has been given analysis of the main indicators of the development of China’s digital economy over the period 2018-2020, which showed high growth rates of the digital economy - more than 25%, an increase in the share of the digital economy in GDP by almost 6 p.p. There have been defined the policies, in which China is the undisputed world leader: e-commerce, financial technology, cloud computing, and the export of IT products. China’s strengthening its position in international digital rankings has been analyzed. It was ranked 4th in the Digital Opportunity Index, 16th in the Global Digital Competitiveness Index and 45th in the E-Government Development Index. This became possible due to factors such as the scale and potential of the domestic market, a high level of technological development, an active innovation policy of the state and large Chinese corporations that promotes digitalization, high quality education and research results. Taking into account the processes taking place in the global economy in 2020, the short-term and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of China’s digital economy have been identified. The short-term effects include the capitalization of restrictions, testing of new technologies and familiarization of the population with new digital opportunities, the long-term ones are the expansion of demand and a change in its structure, an increase in investments in digital transformation, including through public and private support programs

Ovarian Dysfunction in Fetally Irradiated Beagles

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 658-659
Author(s):  
T. M. Seed ◽  
M. H. Sanderson ◽  
D. L. Gutzeit ◽  
T. E. Fritz ◽  
D. V. Tolle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Rays ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Ovarian Dysfunction ◽  
Dose Rates ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Microscopic Evaluation ◽  
Ovarian Pathology ◽  
Normal Offspring

The developing mammalian fetus is thought to be highly sensitive to ionizing radiation. However, dose, dose-rate relationships are not well established, especially the long term effects of protracted, low-dose exposure. A previous report (1) has indicated that bred beagle bitches exposed to daily doses of 5 to 35 R 60Co gamma rays throughout gestation can produce viable, seemingly normal offspring. Puppies irradiated in utero are distinguishable from controls only by their smaller size, dental abnormalities, and, in adulthood, by their inability to bear young.We report here our preliminary microscopic evaluation of ovarian pathology in young pups continuously irradiated throughout gestation at daily (22 h/day) dose rates of either 0.4, 1.0, 2.5, or 5.0 R/day of gamma rays from an attenuated 60Co source. Pups from non-irradiated bitches served as controls. Experimental animals were evaluated clinically and hematologically (control + 5.0 R/day pups) at regular intervals.

Ultrastructural investigations of MDL 19,660-induced effects on the canine platelet and megakaryocyte

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-375
Author(s):  
D.E. Loudy ◽  
J. Sprinkle-Cavallo ◽  
J.T. Yarrington ◽  
F.Y. Thompson ◽  
J.P. Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Antidepressant Drug ◽  
Beagle Dogs ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Platelet Counts ◽  
Toxicological Studies ◽  
Induced Aggregation ◽  
Internal Architecture

Previous short term toxicological studies of one to two weeks duration have demonstrated that MDL 19,660 (5-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,4-dihydro-2,4-dimethyl-3Hl, 2,4-triazole-3-thione), an antidepressant drug, causes a dose-related thrombocytopenia in dogs. Platelet counts started to decline after two days of dosing with 30 mg/kg/day and continued to decrease to their lowest levels by 5-7 days. The loss in platelets was primarily of the small discoid subpopulation. In vitro studies have also indicated that MDL 19,660: does not spontaneously aggregate canine platelets and has moderate antiaggregating properties by inhibiting ADP-induced aggregation. The objectives of the present investigation of MDL 19,660 were to evaluate ultrastructurally long term effects on platelet internal architecture and changes in subpopulations of platelets and megakaryocytes.Nine male and nine female beagle dogs were divided equally into three groups and were administered orally 0, 15, or 30 mg/kg/day of MDL 19,660 for three months. Compared to a control platelet range of 353,000- 452,000/μl, a doserelated thrombocytopenia reached a maximum severity of an average of 135,000/μl for the 15 mg/kg/day dogs after two weeks and 81,000/μl for the 30 mg/kg/day dogs after one week.

Long-Term Effects of Head Lice Tx Unknown

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
MITCHEL L. ZOLER
Keyword(s):  
Head Lice ◽  
Long Term Effects

The response of skin perfusion and of rheological and immunological variables to intravenous prostanoid administration in Raynaud’s phenomenon secondary to collagenosis

VASA ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drinda ◽  
Neumann ◽  
Pöhlmann ◽  
Vogelsang ◽  
Stein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laser Doppler Flowmetry ◽  
Raynaud’S Phenomenon ◽  
Raynaud's Phenomenon ◽  
Plasma Viscosity ◽  
Laser Doppler ◽  
Erythrocyte Aggregation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Doppler Flowmetry

Background: Prostanoids are used in the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon and acral perfusion disorders secondary to collagenosis. In subjective terms, intravenous administration of these agents produces success in more than 50% of patients. The therapeutic outcome of clinical administration of alprostadil or iloprost may vary from individual to individual. Patients and methods: The following variables were analysed in a cross-over study in 27 patients with collagenosis and Raynaud’s phenomenon: plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation (rheological variables), partial pressure of oxygen and laser Doppler flowmetry in the finger region, and lymphocyte phenotyping and interleukin (IL) determinations (immunological variables). Results: Laser Doppler flowmetry revealed significant differences between patients with secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon and a control group of 25 healthy subjects. Laser Doppler readings did not change significantly as a result of the treatments. Therapy with iloprost produced a reduction in IL-1beta, L-selectin (CD 62 L) and IL-6. Conclusion: The change in immunological variables due to iloprost may explain the long-term effects of prostaglandins in the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon. From our results it is not possible to infer any preference for iloprost or alprostadil.

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