Abstract
For-profit biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies have played an essential role in the research and development (R&D) of innovative medical products and drugs for many decades and embody a trillion-dollar industry. The past decades have been marked by an increase in growth of social non-profit biotechnology companies and organizations led by entrepreneurs committed to solve (global) health issues. In this review, we define the concept of social bioentrepreneurship and consider the potential impact of such ventures on global health. We analyse the current status of non-profit biotechnology and clarify the strategy, motivation, funding, and marketing techniques of these enterprises. We find that these non-profit ventures mainly focus on neglected and rare diseases by using different but also similar funding, marketing, and business strategy approaches to for-profit biotechnology enterprises. We also identify good leadership, multidisciplinary teams, and public awareness as key components to achieve long-term survival and higher success rates. Challenges faced by bioentrepreneurs include the lack of a clearly defined regulatory environment or governmental incentives to support their endeavors. Overall, with this qualitative data review and market analysis we draw a promising picture of social non-profit bioentrepreneurship and underscore its current and future impact on global health issues.
Highlights
For-profit biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies have played an essential role in the research and development (R&D) of innovative medical products for many decades and embody a huge industry
We have studied the geographic distribution and founding years of social bioentrepreneurship ventures and non-profit biotech companies
Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) focuses on developing new treatments for the most neglected patients suffering from diseases such as sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, malaria, filarial diseases, and pediatric HIV
Summary
For-profit biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies have played an essential role in the research and development (R&D) of innovative medical products for many decades and embody a huge industry. A “Social Bio Start-up” may be interested in providing solutions for major global health issues such as HIV/AIDS [4], neglected tropical diseases, rare diseases, and non-affordable treatments, among others Such conditions are rarely addressed by for-profit organizations. The purpose of this paper is to further define the concept of mainly non-profit social bioentrepreneurship and explain its potential future impact on global health We will investigate both bioentrepreneurs themselves and their non-profit biotechnological ventures. Our focus will mainly be on nonprofit companies that develop and commercialize diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic medical products and drugs This will be complemented with a qualitative market analysis and examples, and eventually, we will provide and discuss a future perspective on the impact of these non-profit enterprises on global health. Oversimplifying, a Social Bioentrepreneur needs the ambition and cleverness of an Entrepreneur [8], the sensitivity of a Social Entrepreneur (i.e., altruism, integrity, trust in others, and empathy) [9, 10] and the scientific and academic knowledge of a Bioentrepreneur [11, 12]
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