Vaccine independence, local competences and globalization
In the field of vaccine development, as in other fields of biomedical research, we are constantly reminded of the progress that has been made over more than a century. Looking to the future, past progress provides a source of welcome reassurance. I shall discuss two other changes that have taken place in the vaccine field over the past half century. the first concerns the locus of innovation: where, and how and why does vaccine innovation take place. I call this the social organisation of vaccine innovation. Have changes in the role of Bigpharma led to a decoupling of vaccine development from the needs of public health? the second, related change concerns the ways in which constraints to the development of new or better vaccines are expressed. I refer to these as the metaphorical representation of vaccine innovation. Whereas decases ago the need for inter-disciplinary cooperation was stressed, today the emphasis is on inter-institutional collaboration. With threats of global epidemics or pandemics, constantly held before us, the need for a globally co-ordinated approach to public health and to the development of more effective tools, seems self-evident. But is this really so?
Stuart Blume,
ASSR, November 2006