We are inviting students who are passionate about health and business to contribute to the development of new business models for cancer treatments in the developing world. Projects shall present a strategic analysis of the possibilities to reinvent our approach to anti-cancer strategies in countries where conventional therapies and business models are out of reach for economic, social, technological and/or ethical reasons.
Who we are
The Metronomics Global Health Initiative is a non-profit effort of scientists, medical associations, healthcare companies, international institutions and concerned citizens who act together to develop alternative anti-cancer strategies for children living in the developing world and beyond. Please visit our website for more information about our initiative: http://metronomics.newethicalbusiness.org .
Supervision
The projects will be supervised by Marc Le Menestrel (Associate Professor of Business at University Pompeu Fabra and Visiting Professor of Ethics, ISIC, INSEAD), Dr Nicolas André (Pediatric Oncologist, Department of Hematology & Pediatric Oncology, La Timone Hospital) and Dr Eddy Pasquier (Children’s Cancer Institute Australia).
Context
We need new business models to meet the health needs of the poorest population of the world: as of today, 90% of the market addresses the needs of the 15% richest.On the other hand, 80% of all children live in developing countries and it is estimated that 200,000 of them are being affected by cancer each year. These children have very limited access to curative treatments and only about 25% will survive. In contrast, approximately 75% of the 50,000 children diagnosed with cancer each year in high-income countries will survive.
A series of problems prevent the development of efficient anti-cancer strategies in developing countries: availability of drugs and treatment facilities, cost and toxicities of treatment, distance to pediatric oncology units, compliance with treatment, delayed diagnosis, prior consultation of traditional practitioners and cultural barriers. Building up constraint-adapted, realistic therapeutic strategies for children suffering from cancer in these countries is therefore a must.
The Metronomic Global Health Initiative aims at developing innovative strategies that rely on: 1) the frequent oral administration of “old” anti-cancer drugs at low doses (metronomic chemotherapy); 2) the use of “old” non anti-cancer drugs for which anti-cancer properties have been unveiled (drug repositioning). These strategies allow developing a non-toxic, affordable and easy to administrate cancer treatment that is well suited for treating patients living
in developing countries.
Contact
Interested students shall contact Marc Le Menestrel to express their motivation and discuss specific topic, scheduling and following steps.
Overview of Possible Topics
Topic 1: Strategic analysis of anti-cancer treatments
- General contextual presentation
- Main industry actors
- Main therapeutic approaches
- Role of physicians
- Governmental actors
- Main recipients of therapies
- Other strategic aspects.
Topic 2: New Business Models for Global Health in developing countries
- Presentation of “Bottom of the pyramid” approaches in the health industry
- New financing modes
- New institutional actors
- Generic drugs and product innovation
- Social integration and modes of delivery
- Other relevant aspects of Social Innovation.
Topic 3: Strategic analysis of Metronomic Anti-Cancer therapies in Developing Countries
- The promises of Metronomics
- Pediatric applications of Metronomics
- The case of India
- The case of China
- The case of Africa
Click here to access our bibliography on New Business Models
Click here to access the corresponding Master class at the Barcelona GSE
