Possibilities for Universities to Influence Global Pricing of Medicines

Abstract

People in countries of the global south are affected by a unique spectrum of diseases, while costs for health care are a huge burden in the context of poverty. Furthermore, non-communicable diseases increasingly play a role in these countries. The management of translational research, potential clinical applications and marketing of new drugs in Germany is thus getting more and more important for global health. Regarding this, universities have a particular responsibility for two reasons. First, through basic research, they contribute significantly to the development of new medicines. Second, the university is a public institution and has thus the responsibility to return the gained knowledge to the public. Marketing of publicly funded innovations should provide benefits to patients in wealthy and poor countries alike. As a first step towards this goal, we demand the introduction of a globally responsible licensing policy at German universities. Different mechanisms which have been described in the German speaking areas such as "Equitable Licensing" provide a basis for the realization of this ambitious aim and have been introduced successfully at the universities of Muenster, Tuebingen and Freiburg.