Nolan John M, Samad Emad U, Jindra Lawrence F, Brozak Stephen G
WBB Securities, 67 Walnut Avenue, Clark, NJ 07066, USA.
Biosecur Bioterror. 2010 Dec;8(4):365-72. doi: 10.1089/bsp.2010.0044.
In the current venture capital climate, it is easier to secure funding for late-stage, next-in-class therapeutic agents than for early-stage opportunities that have the potential to advance basic science and translational medicine. This funding paradigm is particularly problematic for the development of "dual-use" biothreat countermeasures such as antibiotics, vaccines, and antitoxins that target pathogens in novel ways and that have broad public health and biodefense applications. To address this issue, we propose the creation of the Drug Development Incentive Fund (DDIF), a novel funding mechanism that can stimulate the development of first-in-class agents that also possess the capability to guard against potential biothreats. This program would also support greater synergies between public funding and private venture investment. In a single act, this organization would secure science of national importance from disappearing, invest in projects that yield significant public health returns, advance the promises of preclinical and early phase research, revitalize biopharmaceutical investment, and create valuable innovation-economy jobs.
在当前的风险投资环境下，为后期的同类最佳治疗药物获得资金支持，要比为有潜力推动基础科学和转化医学发展的早期项目更容易。这种资金模式对于开发“两用”生物威胁应对措施（如以新颖方式靶向病原体且具有广泛公共卫生和生物防御应用的抗生素、疫苗和抗毒素）而言，问题尤为突出。为解决这一问题，我们提议设立药物开发激励基金（DDIF），这是一种新型资金机制，能够刺激开发同类首创药物，这些药物还具备防范潜在生物威胁的能力。该计划还将支持公共资金与私人风险投资之间实现更大的协同效应。通过这一举措，该组织将确保具有国家重要意义的科学不会消失，投资于能带来显著公共卫生回报的项目，推动临床前和早期研究的进展，重振生物制药投资，并创造有价值的创新经济就业机会。
