Hollis Aidan
Department of Economics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Syst Synth Biol. 2013 Sep;7(3):99-105. doi: 10.1007/s11693-013-9115-5. Epub 2013 Jul 17.
Synthetic biology (SynBio) has tremendous, transformative potential. Like other technologies, it can be used for good or ill. Currently, the structure of the allocation of potential benefits and risks is biased in favor of richer countries. The underlying problem is simple: most risks from SynBio are universal and affect both the rich and the poor with equal force; but benefits from SynBio can be expected to accrue chiefly to the rich. The risk/benefit balance is therefore skewed in a way that may lead to inefficient and unfair decisions. One potential solution is presented in this paper, using the principles that underlie the Health Impact Fund (HIF). The HIF is designed to reward companies based on assessed health impact, no matter where it occurs in the world, so that extending the life of a poor person is as profitable as extending the life of a rich person. This paper considers both the potential benefits and costs of SynBio; examines how the current global pharmaceutical industry is structured; introduces the HIF proposal; and finally explores how the principles underlying the HIF could be used productively with SynBio for global health.
合成生物学具有巨大的变革潜力。与其他技术一样，它既可以被用于善举，也可以被用于恶行。目前，潜在利益和风险的分配结构偏向于富裕国家。根本问题很简单：合成生物学带来的大多数风险具有普遍性，对富国和穷国的影响力度相同；但合成生物学带来的利益预计将主要惠及富国。因此，风险/收益平衡出现了偏差，这可能导致决策效率低下且不公平。本文提出了一种潜在的解决方案，其依据是健康影响基金（HIF）所遵循的原则。健康影响基金旨在根据评估的健康影响对公司进行奖励，无论这种影响在世界何处发生，从而使延长穷人的寿命与延长富人的寿命具有同样的获利能力。本文既考虑了合成生物学的潜在益处和成本；审视了当前全球制药行业的结构；介绍了健康影响基金的提议；最后探讨了健康影响基金所依据的原则如何能与合成生物学有效结合以促进全球健康。
