A tough transition

Сингер, Петер; Berndtson, Kathryn; Tracy, C. Shawn; Cohen, Emma R.M.; Masum, Hassan; Lavery, James V.; Daar, Abdallah S.

doi:10.1038/449160a

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Product life cycles can be short. In addition, product development in the developing world occurs in highly uncertain environments [39]. KEMRI faced near disaster after building its production facility because it implicitly assumed that there would be a guaranteed market.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning science into health solutions: KEMRI’s challenges as Kenya’s health product pathfinder

Simiyu

Masum

Chakma

et al. 2010

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

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BackgroundA traditional pathway for developing new health products begins with public research institutes generating new knowledge, and ends with the private sector translating this knowledge into new ventures. But while public research institutes are key drivers of basic research in sub-Saharan Africa, the private sector is inadequately prepared to commercialize ideas that emerge from these institutes, resulting in these institutes taking on the role of product development themselves to alleviate the local disease burden. In this article, the case study method is used to analyze the experience of one such public research institute: the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).DiscussionOur analysis indicates that KEMRI’s product development efforts began modestly, and a manufacturing facility was constructed with a strategy for the facility’s product output which was not very successful. The intended products, HIV and Hepatitis B diagnostic kits, had a short product life cycle, and an abrupt change in regulatory requirements left KEMRI with an inactive facility. These problems were the result of poor innovation management capacity, variability in domestic markets, lack of capital to scale up technologies, and an institutional culture that lacked innovation as a priority.However, KEMRI appears to have adapted by diversifying its product line to mitigate risk and ensure continued use of its manufacturing facility. It adopted an open innovation business model which linked it with investors, research partnerships, licensing opportunities, and revenue from contract manufacturing. Other activities that KEMRI has put in place over several years to enhance product development include the establishment of a marketing division, development of an institutional IP policy, and training of its scientists on innovation management.SummaryKEMRI faced many challenges in its attempt at health product development, including shifting markets, lack of infrastructure, inadequate financing, and weak human capital with respect to innovation. However, it overcame them through diversification, partnerships and changes in culture. The findings could have implications for other research institutes in Sub-Saharan Africa seeking to develop health products. Such institutes must analyze potential demand and uptake, yet be prepared to face the unexpected and develop appropriate risk-mitigating strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning science into health solutions: KEMRI’s challenges as Kenya’s health product pathfinder

Simiyu

Masum

Chakma

et al. 2010

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

Self Cite

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“…The emergence of strategic philanthropic organizations provides an additional funding structure to finance disease treatment [181]. Additionally, cultural acceptance for nanomedicines must exist before it can be widely adopted [182]. By establishing clinical efficacy, affordability, accessibility, and acceptance for new technologies, these therapeutics can be better translated for use on a global scale.…”

Section: Future Research Areas and Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of nanotechnologies for improved immune response against infectious diseases in the developing world

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Bandyopadhyay

Blum

et al. 2010

Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews

133

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There is an urgent need for new strategies to combat infectious diseases in developing countries. Many pathogens have evolved to elude immunity and this has limited the utility of current therapies. Additionally, the emergence of co-infections and drug resistant pathogens has increased the need for advanced therapeutic and diagnostic strategies. These challenges can be addressed with therapies that boost the quality and magnitude of an immune response in a predictable, designable fashion that can be applied for wide-spread use. Here, we discuss how biomaterials and specifically nanoscale delivery vehicles can be used to modify and improve the immune system response against infectious diseases. Immunotherapy of infectious disease is the enhancement or modulation of the immune system response to more effectively prevent or clear pathogen infection. Nanoscale vehicles are particularly adept at facilitating immunotherapeutic approaches because they can be engineered to have different physical properties, encapsulated agents, and surface ligands. Additionally, nanoscaled point-of-care diagnostics offer new alternatives for portable and sensitive health monitoring that can guide the use of nanoscale immunotherapies. By exploiting the unique tunability of nanoscale biomaterials to activate, shape, and detect immune system effector function, it may be possible in the near future to generate practical strategies for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in the developing world.

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“…CE has been recognized as an important factor in the successful introduction and adoption of new technologies [7]. But despite a growing appreciation of its importance, what makes CE effective remains poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of community engagement in the adoption of new agricultural biotechnologies by farmers: the case of the Africa harvest tissue-culture banana in Kenya

et al. 2017

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BackgroundThe tissue culture banana (TCB) is a biotechnological agricultural innovation that has been adopted widely in commercial banana production. In 2003, Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AH) initiated a TCB program that was explicitly developed for smallholder farmers in Kenya to help them adopt the TCB as a scalable agricultural business opportunity. At the heart of the challenge of encouraging more widespread adoption of the TCB is the question: what is the best way to introduce the TCB technology, and all its attendant practices and opportunities, to smallholder farmers. In essence, a challenge of community or stakeholder engagement (CE).ResultsIn this paper, we report the results of a case study of the CE strategies employed by AH to introduce TCB agricultural practices to small-hold farmers in Kenya, and their impact on the uptake of the TCB, and on the nature of the relationship between AH and the relevant community of farmers and other stakeholders. We identified six specific features of CE in the AH TCB project that were critical to its effectiveness: (1) adopting an empirical, “evidence-based” approach; (2) building on existing social networks; (3) facilitating farmer-to-farmer engagement; (4) focusing engagement on farmer groups; (5) strengthening relationships of trust through collaborative experiential learning; and (6) helping farmers to “learn the marketing game”. We discuss the implications of AH’s “values-based” approach to engagement, and how these guiding values functioned as “design constraints” for the key features of their CE strategy. And we highlight the importance of attention to the human dimensions of complex partnerships as a key determinant of successful CE.ConclusionOur findings suggest new ways of conceptualizing the relationship between CE and the design and delivery of new technologies for global health and global development.

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A tough transition

Cited by 20 publications

References 10 publications

Turning science into health solutions: KEMRI’s challenges as Kenya’s health product pathfinder

Turning science into health solutions: KEMRI’s challenges as Kenya’s health product pathfinder

Application of nanotechnologies for improved immune response against infectious diseases in the developing world

The role of community engagement in the adoption of new agricultural biotechnologies by farmers: the case of the Africa harvest tissue-culture banana in Kenya

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