New R&D Funding Model For TB, Antimicrobial Resistance

The World Health Organization Bulletin this month has an article about the need for new models of research and development for tuberculosis and antimicrobial resistance. The article describes a new funding framework called the 3P Project.

The article, available here, states:

“Several nongovernmental organizations, medical research councils, civil society representatives and the South African government have recently developed a new funding framework to support research and development of tuberculosis treatments – the 3P Project (pull, pool and push). This initiative (i) uses a pull incentive, by rewarding research through prizes; (ii) pools intellectual property and data; and (iii) uses push incentives through research grants.

The 3P project is a collaborative research initiative that aims to support the discovery and development of a one-month treatment regimen that can be used to cure all cases of tuberculosis. The project’s funding model will ensure that a new regimen is affordable and accessible to all those in need.

The 3P Project incentivizes researchers by providing cash prizes for compounds that meet predefined product characteristics and are ready to enter phase I clinical trials. Coupling this financial reward with an obligation to pool the compounds data and intellectual property, the 3P Project will then fund the development of treatment combinations. The project will thus de-link the costs of research and development from the final cost of the treatment and sales as defined by the UN Political declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on antimicrobial resistance; ensuring treatment affordability.”