In developing countries, 6 out of 10 people die from infectious diseases. Nearly 1 billion humans suffer from a neglected infectious disease, according to the World Health Organisation. Yet less than 1% of the new drugs placed on the market from 1975 to the turn of the century were developed for...

This report, based on a series of initial interviews, and augmented by an extensive survey to which 25 countries in total responded, describes policies and practices adopted by countries to address a number of challenges that are specific to oncology medicines.

All OECD countries have established vaccination programmes based on their interpretation of the risks and benefits of each vaccine. There is strong evidence that vaccines provide safe and effective protection against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), and measles....

Influenza is a common infectious disease that affects many people. Most people with influenza recover quickly, but elderly people and those with chronic medical conditions are at higher risk of complications and even death. Influenza vaccination rate refers to the number of people aged 65 and...

More than 35 million people worldwide had dementia in 2010, when annual costs were estimated at USD 604 billion; the number of people with dementia is expected to exceed 115 million by 2050. Alzheimer’s disease is today considered the prototype problem for the Grand Global Challenge in...

Science and technology improves human health but the pressure for faster and larger improvements is building with the continued ageing of the population of many OECD countries and the associated increased demands for health care. A fundamental starting point for better understanding of the...

This report examines examples of new and emerging governance models that aim to support the responsible development of diagnostics and treatments based on the latest advances in biomedicine. In particular, it presents programmes and initiatives that aim to manage uncertainty in the development...

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), through its Working Party on Biotechnology, undertook a project on “Healthy Ageing and Biomedical Innovation for Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease”. The project was conducted under Output Result 2.1 of the WPB Programme of...