Vaccine Innovation and Global Sustainability
Innovative preventive vaccines against emerging and neglected infectious diseases, such as Zika, dengue, influenza, and HIV/AIDS, are examined from a global sustainability perspective in this chapter, aiming to integrate public health and innovation governance approaches. Innovation-intensive vaccines with reduced adverse effects can have an enormous impact on life expectancy and on the quality of life of the global population, but in contrast only one of the SDGs, SDG3, refers directly to vaccines (3.b.1). However, this chapter also identifies seven other SDGs strongly related to vaccines and six additional SDGs related to vaccines, leading to a total of 14 vaccine-related goals in 17 SDGs. Two of these goals are related to innovation and technological development of vaccines (SDG9 and SDG17). The authors examine vaccine performance indicators and current technological and regulatory obstacles to achieve these goals, particularly affecting developing countries, and propose STI governance strategies to overcome these gaps and increase access to vaccines. Policy recommendations for vaccine funding and incentives for innovation, development, and vaccine production are made. Recommendations are also given for specific vaccine STI performance indicators and strategies to achieve the 14 vaccine-related SDGs.