Open Innovation
Traditionally, product development for a certain drug, vaccine, or diagnostic has been housed and advanced by a single entity – a pharmaceutical or life science company. By contrast, a model of R&D whereby products are developed by multiple parties working in collaboration, is often referred to as “open innovation,” is increasingly more common model. Japan recognizes this trend.
The GHIT Fund’s strong relationships with product development partnerships (PDPs) and their network of partners help us facilitate international R&D partnerships between Japanese and non-Japanese entities. Each partner’s strengths and contributions are amplified as a result of such engagement. By advancing international R&D partnerships and encouraging open innovation, the GHIT Fund promotes an efficient and effective approach to global health technology development.
Access
Today, over one billion people still live in absolute poverty, many in the developing world subsisting on less than US$1 a day and lacking access to essential healthcare and tools. Complex obstacles including the price of medicines, the limited capacity of public health systems, a lack of political commitment to health improvement, international trade and patent disputes, and unsustainable and unreliable financing, are all barriers that complicate access to necessary medicines.
In recognition of this critical challenge, the GHIT Fund works with life science companies, universities and research institutions to discover and develop new health technologies, including drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, that are both accessible and affordable for the poorest of the poor. Our Data & Product Access Policies explains that prices of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics primarily funded by the GHIT Fund will be based on a ‘No Gain, No Loss’ principle.
Equity
Equity is central to our mission of facilitating global R&D partnerships that enable Japanese technology, innovations, and insights to play a more direct role in reducing disparities in health between the rich and the poor. Our investments are based on the belief that every community and individual deserves access to the tools they need—at an affordable price—to thrive.
The socio-economic status of the end users of our invested innovation limits their capacity to assume the cost burden of these diseases, their treatment, or their prevention. Our investments aim to improve the health and quality of life of the poorest of the poor in order to help them realize their potential and achieve economic prosperity.
Transparency
The GHIT Fund considers transparency to be the cornerstone of our approach to impact assessment. By clarifying the metrics of how we define Impact – product development milestones, stage-gates, and invested innovations – we strengthen the credibility of our investments and, improve our communication and collaboration with development partners. We disclose our Investment Opportunities using clearly defined Requests for Proposals and also make public our proposal Selection process along with assessment criteria for science, management, and access. Once awarded, all investments are disclosed in our Portfolio consisting of analytics and descriptions of each product development project.
As defined in our Data & Product Access Policies, the GHIT Fund also requires that all data and findings associated with our investments be disclosed in a broad and prompt manner in order to optimize prospects for the translation of findings into the global advancement of new healthcare technologies. Our development partners utilize public-access repositories or alternatives for access that ensure the transmission of new scientific findings to the larger global research and development community.
