Outlook in 2007

Protecting intellectual property saves lives in the developing world, argues Paul Herrling.

Governments must help accelerate the development of drugs needed to treat infectious diseases in the developing world, say Bénédicte Callan and Iain Gillespie.

Brazil urgently needs to improve infrastructure for generating pharmaceuticals to alleviate the plight of its poor and marginalized populations, say Carlos M. Morel et al.

Improvements in basic infrastructure are the key to saving millions of lives each year, say Julian Lob-Levyt and his colleagues.

The culture of academia needs to change if scientists are to bridge the gap between research and the development of drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases in the developing world, says Declan Butler.

Differential pricing could make global medicines affordable in developing countries. But drugs for diseases that have no market in the developed world will require additional subsidies, says Patricia M. Danzon.

One billion people worldwide suffer from tropical diseases. Andrew L. Hopkins, Michael J. Witty and Solomon Nwaka explain how drug-discovery networks might be scaled up to address the lack of treatments cost-effectively.

What is holding back biotechnology in the developing world? Peter A. Singer and his colleagues listen to those on the ground.