IE Admission Question A Presentation

1. United Nations: We Demand More
Hope for Global Healthcare
Ian Kurth
Source: blog.globalhealthportal.northwestern.edu

2. Unparalleled moment of possibility with:
 Monumental strides in
biotechnology research
We are close to grasping for far more
of humanity:
 Life rather than Death, Life rather
than Suffering – by delivering
treatments for the most pervasive
diseases
With the Science, we must advance:
 Capital, human resources
 Policy, regulatory accommodation
 Leadership
 Public-Private partnerships
 Hope & Confidence of Success
 Commitment to the arduous efforts
Source: www.npr.org
Source: www.unaaqld.org.au

3. HIV/AIDS
33.2 million living with HIV. 2.1 million die of AIDS yearly. 95% of HIV infections in developing countries.
 HIV medication, Antiretroviral’s (AVR’s), extremely expensive in developing countries
 Requires import of cheaper generic drugs, often violating patent-laws (set by WTO) leading
to potential economic sanctions
Problem:
 AVR regimen difficult (many pills taken at specific
times daily)
 Not taken properly (e.g. patients share meds)
 Cost-prohibitive to Pharmaceutical Companies to
insure proper AVR use
 Also lack of infrastructure to regularly distribute full
range (“cocktail”) of meds
Solution:
 More effective AVR drug cocktail, such as one pill a day instead of many
 A vaccine to eradicate the HIV virus entirely
Current Research:
 AVR taken once daily (Stribild from
Gilead Pharm.). Extremely expensive
at $28,500 per patient per year
 Antibody Neutralizing Therapy
(injecting antibodies to neutralize HIV
virus)
 Promise of a vaccine – Theraclone
Sciences, private company funded by
the International AIDS Vaccine
Initiative (IAVI), Venture Capital Firms,
and Pfizer
UN Demands:
 Increase World Health Organization
(WHO) grants for antibody vaccine
research
 Work with developing countries to expedite
human research
 Develop and implement broader and more
consistent Intl. Policy and economic
accommodation to make AVR meds less
expensive worldwide, while preserving
incentives for the private sector to invest in
research and delivery
Source: www.glogster.com
Source: natap.org
Source: blogs.discovermagazine.com

4. Malaria
219 million people affected each year. 660,000 yearly deaths (mostly children). 90% of deaths in Africa. Accounts for 1 in 6 of all childhood deaths.
Malaria is the major cause of childhood deaths (apart from general lack of access to medical care) in
developing countries due to strains of malaria resistant virus from outdated drugs such as Chloroquine
(CQ), which is most frequently available in developing countries due to its cheap cost.
Problem:
 Old drugs, such as CQ, costs $0.30 per dose
 Most effective drug treatments are Artemisinin
Combination Therapy (i.e. ACT) drugs that cost $11 per
dose (65 times the daily minimum wage in many African
countries)
Solution:
 Vastly increase production and use of ACT drugs by
reducing costs and price to end-users
 Develop a better vaccine – i.e., a one dose vaccine
format instead of a long-term drug treatment protocol
Current Research:
 Breakthrough in vaccine research
manipulating samples of the virus: 100% of
all human test subjects not contracting
malaria after receiving the vaccine and
being exposed to the disease
 Developed by Sanaria with $12.47 million in
funds from the NIH, the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, and the Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research
UN Demands:
 Work with countries and companies to make ACT
drugs far less expensive in developing countries
 Increase WHO funding to complete clinical trials
of Sanaria vaccine as well as other vaccines
 Work with local regulators to expedite approvals
to begin wide-spread treatments
 Fund and expedite global vaccination while
preserving private sector research and
production-distribution investment incentives
Source: www.childsheart.org
Source: pcwww.liv.ac.uk
Source: ibnlive.in.com

5. Hearing Loss
360 million people have disabling hearing loss. Half caused by untreated childhood ear infections. Hearing aid production meets less than 10% of global demand.
Without proper medical care and antibiotic treatments, ear infections go untreated and lead to debilitating
hearing loss from childhood. Unlike many other diseases, hearing loss can be effectively treated with hearing
aids, but unlike many other diseases, hearing loss does not get the attention necessary to bolster an effective
impact on treatment.
Problem:
 2-week course of antibiotic treatment can cost $3-66 in Africa, where daily wages are less than
$1
 Hearing aids cost from $2,000-6,000 and there is very little, if any, government help to cover the
cost of hearing aids in developing countries
Solution:
 Make antibiotic drugs cheaper, more available – but focused on particular indications
 Fund private (e.g. The Starkey Foundation) and public foundations that donate hearing aids as
well as creating government hearing-care programs in developing countries -- with research in
medically reversing hearing-loss and deafness still in its infancy
Current Research:
 Breakthroughs in hearing aid technology make aids
smaller, clearer in sound amplification, and more durable
 The Lyric aid, by Phonak, is inserted into the canal and can
remain there for months
 Research in reversing deafness include stem-cell and
genetic protein research to regrow cochlear cilia (the hairs
necessary for hearing) from companies like GenVec which
has partnered with Novartis as it is set to receive $213.6
million in research funding
UN Demands:
 The WHO should help fund private
organizations, such as Starkey, to make
hearing aids more widely accessible
 Supply peace-keeping troops to allow these
organizations the safety to fit hearing aids for
people in unstable countries
 Engage developing governments to establish
more effective programs for hearing-care
 Fund additional early stage funding for stem-
cell and genetics based hearing research
Source: www.kids-ent.com
Source: www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org
Source: www.digitalhearingcare.org.uk

6. Psychiatric Disorders
More than 450 million suffer from mental disorders. In developed countries 50% do not get necessary care – 90% in developing countries. Severe
mental illness reduces life expectancy by 25 years. Homelessness is often associated with a severe mental illness as their unemployment rate is 90%.
 Especially in developing countries, many suffering debilitating mental illness often go undiagnosed and untreated.
 Mythical stigma, such as being “possessed”, exists, and the mentally ill are social outcasts.
 Without appropriate institutions, the mentally ill are often left destitute and homeless, prone to risky behavior such as drug abuse.
Problem:
 Many developing countries lack infrastructure, mental health education/experience, and
social perspective to effectively diagnose mental disorders and deliver, often life-long,
treatment
 Many disorders are difficult to diagnose and the disorder exhibits itself differently amongst
sufferers (e.g. bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia)
Solution:
 Disorders (e.g. bipolar) were diagnosed by observation and talk therapy, but
research has illuminated physical neurological/neurochemical abnormalities
associated with many mental disorders enabling medical test diagnosis (e.g.
brain imaging)
 Therapies can be improved with greater acceptance, more advanced drug
treatments, remote interaction with professionals, and overall greater investment
commitment
Current Research:
 Research on diagnosing mood disorders have advanced to genetic markers for proteins controlling
indicative neurochemicals – a research leader is the HudsonAlpha Institute, which studies genetic
sequences of thousands of bipolar patients (received a $7.8 million NIH research grant).
 To replace drug therapies for mood disorders (e.g. Lithium, a 30-year-old treatment with severe side
effects), research seeks focused treatments at a genetic and specific neurochemical level.
 Long-distance “talk” or “cognitive-behavioral” therapy include online long-distance “telehealth” implemented
according to strict guidelines such as the use of electronics to monitor bodily vital signs and drug
adherence while video-conferencing with licensed psychiatrists – offered by companies like “CMS
Teleheath” and even , virtual rehab programs developed for Microsoft X-box (developed by Reflexion
Health with a $7.5 million Series A investment from West Health Investment).
UN Demands:
 Increase WHO funding for
diagnostic and treatment
research
 Mental health awareness
campaigns to de-stigmatize
psychiatric disorders and
support of infrastructure
investments
 Global policy initiatives to
make internet and
telecommunications readily
available to patients in
developing countries
Source: blogs.psychcentral.com
Source: shrdocs.com
Source: www.activeforever.com

7. In Conclusion
These are a few examples of the many
pervasive diseases plaguing humanity,
especially the populations of developing
countries. We need many more
breakthrough treatments and cures, but
the science has achieved great promise.
Beyond the partnership of the private
sector with the UN and other public
participants – making broad healthcare
advances requires more from scientists
and investors.
Better Partnership of the Best Scientists with the Best Investors:
 With the intellectual capital of the biotechnology research, fast and large sums
of monetary capital for the “right” research is required to go from a laboratory
white-board to the pill, or the vaccine in a patient’s arm.
 Research is increasingly offering a vast array of options and directions – and
with time-of-the-essence, investors are increasingly challenged to assess
investment opportunities.
 Capital has also become more complex as philanthropies scale, governments
address political considerations with mission strategies, and return and risk has
deeper meaning for venture capitalists, corporate R&D efforts, and public
market pension/fund investors.
 Individuals and organizations must continue to reinvent themselves to achieve
improved synergies of healthcare science and finance.
Source: www.unmultimedia.org
Source: www.cattolicanews.it
Source: kimberley-gordon.squarespace.com