Public-private partnerships critical in fight against infectious diseases

The threat of infectious diseases continues to drive innovation in the free market, resulting in improved or novel therapies and diagnostics. Among its benefits, the free market is a place where readily available resources can be used to tackle emerging threats. One example is the number of companies that have stepped up to develop a vaccine during the current Zika virus outbreak, according to Richard B. Markham, MD, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

“We like to think the government can move equally quickly when faced with a threat like this,” Markham told Infectious Disease News, “but the politics of that has turned out to be pretty difficult.”

 

On the other hand, the free market sometimes fails to sufficiently address threats to human health such as antimicrobial resistance, according to Robert C. Bollinger, MD, MPH, founding director of the Center for Clinical Global Health Education and professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.