Where to Find the Course:
Home Page:
http://gspp.berkeley.edu/iths/RDStrategies/Home.htm
Wiki:
https://bspace.berkeley.edu/portal
Designing Strategies for Neglected Disease Research
Law 284.26
Public Policy 190/290
Course Overview:
Thinking Through the Problem
Stephen M. Maurer
Where to Find the Course:
Home Page:
http://gspp.berkeley.edu/iths/RDStrategies/Home.htm
Wiki:
https://bspace.berkeley.edu/portal
Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
“The power of instruction is seldom of much
efficacy except in those happy dispositions
where it is almost superfluous."
- Edward Gibbon
Goals
This is nominally …
A Course About a Specific Innovation
Problem (Mostly Economics)
But you should think of it as …
A Course About R&D Incentives
Ongoing Research
A Course About Giving Practical Advice
(A Potential Initiative)
The Hard (Also Rewarding, Interesting) Part…
Interdisciplinary Problems
Three views
- Cartoon intuition
- “How to do public policy”
- A worked example.
Interdisciplinary
Problems
Drugs for
U.S.
The Problem
Drugs for Developing
World
Interdisciplinary
Problems
Drugs for
U.S.
Political Science –
Redistribution
Drugs for Developing
World
Interdisciplinary
Problems
Drugs for
U.S.
Biology & Engineering
Drugs for Developing
World
Interdisciplinary
Problems
Drugs for
U.S.
This Course (Primarily)
Drugs for Developing
World
Interdisciplinary
Problems
Drugs for
U.S.
Incentives Design
Drugs for Developing
World
Interdisciplinary
Problems 2
Doing Public Policy
- Define Goals  Understand 
Identify Bottlenecks Design a
(Hopefully) Elegant Response.
Interdisciplinary
Problems 2
Doing Public Policy
- Define Goals  Understand 
Identify Bottlenecks Design a
(Hopefully) Elegant Response.
1. Define Goals
Choose an Objective Function!
Interdisciplinary
Problems 2
Doing Public Policy
- Define Goals  Understand 
Identify Bottlenecks Design a
(Hopefully) Elegant Response.
2. Understand
Take Theory Seriously
- “Pharma doesn’t want to prevent
diseases, selling drugs is more lucrative.”
- “Prizes are only paid if you get a drug.”
*Making Contact Between Theory and Evidence
Interdisciplinary
Problems 2
Doing Public Policy
- Define Goals  Understand 
Identify Bottlenecks  Design a
(Hopefully) Elegant Response.
3. Identify Bottlenecks
- What are the Main Innovation Challenges?
- The Innovation Toolbox
Interdisciplinary
Problems 2
Doing Public Policy
- Define Goals  Understand 
Identify Bottlenecks Design a
(Hopefully) Elegant Response.
4. Design a Response
- “No dominant incentive mechanism”
- What are the Main Innovation Challenges?
- The Innovation Toolbox
A Concrete
Example:
Prizes vs. PPPs
Prizes
How Big Should the Prize Be?
$800m ± $115m
PPPs
Picking Winners
Managing Outsourced R&D
Getting the Best Ideas
… And Also Patents?
Access Pricing
Recurring Themes
Innovation Economics
Efficient Procurement
(Getting a Good Price)
Usually: Efficiency: How intense do we want
R&D effort to be?
Here: Limited Budget: How much will it
cost?
Information Asymmetry/Agency Problems
(Managing Outsourced R&D)
Managers Don’t Know Everything
Researchers May Have Diverging Goals
Recurring Themes
Innovation Economics, ctd…
Eliciting Information
(Getting Good Ideas)
Good Ideas are (Often) Widely Distributed
Counterexamples
A prizes for reduced DALYs?
A prize for optimized drug
compounds?
Efficient Access
Patents
Prices matter!
Comment
“It’s a Great Idea, But Government Will Never Listen”
A Lawyer’s Faith
Roadmap
Roadmap
Lecture
Topic
Speaker
Week 1
Jan. 13-15
Introduction
AK, SM
Defining The Goals:
Week 2Disease Burdens
Jan. 20-22
R&D Priorities
Kirk Smith, Julia
Walsh
Week 3A
Jan. 27
The Drug Discovery
Business
David Ridley
Week 3B,
4A
Jan. 29-
Drug Development
Science; The Neglected
Disease Pipeline
Jim McKerrow
Solomon Nwaka
Roadmap
Lecture
Topic
Speaker
Week
4B – 5B
Feb. 5-12
Innovation Economics
SM, AK
Leading Proposals:
Week 6A
Feb. 17
Price Discrimination and
Patent Pools
Keith Maskus
Week 6B
Feb. 19
Financing Proposals
Saul Walker
Week 7A
Prizes
Aidan Hollis
Roadmap
Lecture
Topic
Speaker
Week 7B
Feb. 26
Funding Clinical Trials
Dean Baker
Week 8A
Mar. 3
Advanced Market
Commitments
Michael Kremer
Mar. 6
Critical Evaluations Due
Week 9A
Mar. 10
Private Public
Partnerships
Suerie Moon
Week 9B
Regulatory Approval
David Kessler
Roadmap
Lecture
Topic
Speaker
Week 10B
Mar. 17-19
Political Economy
Richard Wilder
James Love
Week 11-12
Mar. 31Apr. 9
Incentive Design Choices
Economists Roundtable
SM, Brian Wright,
Suzanne Scotchmer
Week 13
Apr. 14-16
Delivering Healthcare
Julia Walsh
Ndola Prata
Week 14
Apr. 20-21
Student Papers;
Concluding Remarks
--
Course Requirements
Class Participation (25%)
Wiki
(In Class Discussion)
Lecture Reporter
Midterm Project
Critique an Existing Initiative (25%)
Self-assemble
Final Project
White Paper (50%)
Groups of 4-6 students
Ideal: Self-assemble!
Logistics
Home Page:
http://gspp.berkeley.edu/iths/RDStrategies/Home.htm
Wiki:
https://bspace.berkeley.edu/portal