ILF: Advance procurement of paediatric drug formulations – Policy brief

04 Feb, 2019

The many challenges of developing drugs appropriately formulated for children are compounded by a series of market factors that make these efforts costly and complex, discouraging drug manufacturers – especially generic drug manufacturers – from prioritizing investments in new paediatric treatment options.

In alignment with the Rome Action Plan, the IAS Industry Liaison Forum (ILF) developed a policy brief exploring the opportunities of advance procurement as a pragmatic approach for the largest ARV buyers – most notably national governments (particularly the Government of South Africa), PEPFAR and the Global Fund–  to incentivize the development of priority paediatric drug formulations.

Advance procurement is aimed at reducing investment uncertainty by ensuring that a minimum market will exist once a drug becomes available for purchase, thereby providing an incentive for manufacturers to invest in developing new products in accordance with a given target product profile or agreed specifications. Advance procurement has already been used to incentivize the development of pneumococcal vaccines.

This brief explores the concept of advance procurement as a method for reducing uncertainty within the paediatric ART market and spurring investment in adapted child-friendly drug formulations.