A newly published white paper, “Investing for Global Health Impact in Product Development Partnerships (PDPs)” summarizes the findings and recommendations of The Product Development Partnerships Innovative Financing Initiative. The year-long initiative, led by Tideline with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sought to bring clarity and guidance to the prospect of impact investment to fund global health research and development.
PDPs are groups of nonprofit organizations engaged in developing drugs, vaccines, and other global health tools as public goods. They are created to incentivize partnerships between the pharmaceutical industry, academic research institutions, and the public sector to develop products that combat disease and improve health in the developing world.
Return-seeking investment capital that targets both financial and social impact objectives is generating interest as a potential source of new capital for PDPs to complement declining public and philanthropic funding. The white paper showcases three existing PDPs (FIND, IAVI, and PATH) in the global health R&D space and identifies opportunities for return-seeking investment using each model.