We were commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to help the organization transform its innovation capabilities and partnerships that foster product and service innovations for the delivery of better health throughout the life-course in countries around the world.
For the purpose of this project we defined “innovation” as existing and new products, technologies and services that can make significant contributions to prevention, care and treatment of target populations in low- and middle-income countries through improved affordability, access and/or effectiveness. We reviewed the WHO’s innovation capabilities across the entire innovation life cycle (ideation, research & development, partnerships, validation, synthesis, optimization, scale up) and across all five programmatic areas (infectious diseases; non-communicable diseases; promoting health through the life-cycle; preparedness, surveillance and response; and health systems and innovations). The WHO’s prioritization of innovation substantially varied and was highly dependent on funding and less so on needs. We therefore used our recommended criteria for the assessment of needs, including the burden of disease, unmet needs, affordability, accessibility, efficacy/effectiveness, quality, estimated time to market, viable investment case and the need to consider ecosystems and time to market.
Methodology was based on a consultation process, interviews, brainstorming meetings with the WHO staff and an extensive review of provided research materials including ours and other partners’ insights. This included key framework documents and initiatives on innovation such as the WHO Program of Work, Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation, the Report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health, PATH Innovation Countdown 2030 Initiative, Resolution 68/98 and Global Health and Foreign Policy.