WORLD HEALTH SUMMIT 2010 NEWSLETTER, NO. 9

Berlin, Oktober 5^th, 2010

World Health Summit – Personalities

Francoise Barré-Sinoussi

Nobel Prize Laureat and Director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections at the Institute Pasteur in Paris

Francoise Barré Sinoussi won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2008 for her role in the discovery of HIV. She is the Director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections, at the Institute Pasteur in Paris. The research programs of her team are focused on models of protection against HIV/AIDS. Along with her research activities, she has been implicated in promoting integration between HIV/AIDS research and action in resource limited countries.

 “The translation of scientific evidences into interventions on the filed is one key component to improve global health conditions. Keeping in mind that health is part of human rights, it is our duty to fight all together against emerging challenges and inequity in the implementation of scientific innovations in health and health care worldwide”

Since the 1980s, Francoise Barré-Sinoussi has initiated collaborations with developing countries whereby she has managed multidisciplinary networks with dedication. She constantly works on establishing permanent links between basic research and clinical research with the aim of achieving concrete improvements in the areas of prevention, clinical care, and treatment.

Francoise Barré-Sinoussi will speak in the Key Note Lectures on October 12th, 2010, 15.00 – 16.00 (Main Hall) about “Translational Research (Click here to see session details).

Sessions at the World Health Summit

Working Session “The Efficiency Challenge: Improving Quality and Productivity in Health Care”

How can we improve the quality of healthcare and still control the costs?

On a global scale, healthcare costs have risen by 2 percent more than inflation over the past 50 years. A number of factors, specific to developed countries will increase costs even further. We have to look at an aging population. The population will change significantly towards older citizens. The elderly account for a substantial share of health and social care costs. We also observe a growth in long-term chronic diseases like coronary heart diseases, depression and adult obesity.

Costs of medical technology rise and citizens have growing expectations of services including home care provided by trained aid workers.

This session will look at the options available to healthcare systems for controlling costs while improving life expectancy and quality of care.

Do we need to draw upon evidence-based medicine to develop a deep understanding of both cost and quality impact?

Is prevention the key in creating sustainable health systems?

The World Health Summit will have a Working Session on “Improving Quality and Productivity in Healthcare” taking up these and other questions on redesigning healthcare provisions and systems. These questions will be raised with the public, private and non-profit- sectors.

This Working Session will be co-hosted by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the UK Department of Health.

This Working Session will be co- hosted by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

Speakers of this session are:
Rob Moodie | Inaugural Chair Nossal Institute of Global Health | University of Melbourne | Australia
Doris Pfeiffer | Chief Executive Officer | National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds | Germany
Robert Kocher | Former Special Assistant to the President | USA
Peter C. Smith | Professor of Health Policy | Imperial College Business School | UKt
Penelope Dash | McKinsey & Company | UK (Comment)

The session will be chaired by:
Jim Easton | National Director for Improvement and Efficiency | Department of Health | UK
Michael Rawlins | Chairman | National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence | UK

The Working Session takes place at October 11th, 2010, 10.30-12.30 in session Room “Koch”.
Click here to see session details

World Health Summit Network

The M8 Alliance and its Members:
Monash University of Melbourne

The university is continually evolving and has worked its way up within a few years to be one of the 50 best universities in the world (Times Higher Education Survey). To date, 75 research centers associated with the university have been developed, not just in Australia itself but also in Europe (Great Britain and Italy). International and intercultural competences in terms of long-term work in institutions with close links – the university seems to have been brought up with this concept, as it was founded with the motto “ancora imparo” (I am still learning).

The  university,  which  was  named  after  the  Australian  engineer  and lawyer, Sir John Monash (1865–1931), opened its doors to its first students in 1961: 363 were then congregated on the Clayton campus and the library was still a decommissioned Volkswagen factory. Now almost 18,000 students study there every year, including 1300 who study overseas. Overall, about 57,000 students have graduated from the Monash University, a third of whom are from outside Australia. There are ten faculties of which the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, (MNHS) with approximately 6000 students, is the biggest. The MNHS Faculty has an annual budget of a good 400 million Australian dollars (AUD), equivalent to about 238 million Euros, 211 million of which (AUD, 124 million Euro) are for research.

“You feel part of a global network here at the university,” says Dr. Jochen Grassinger, who  has  been  working  at  the  internationally  prestigious  Australian  Stem  Cell  Centre (ASCC) for three years, two of which were sponsored by German Cancer Aid. The ASCC is situated on the Clayton campus. It was founded as a Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and is funded by the federal budget, by the State of Victoria and increasingly by money from industry, as fundamental and applied research is closely related. Grassinger is a german physician. He obtained his doctorate in the Haematology and Oncology Department  at  Regensburg  University  Hospital.  At Monash, Grassinger  joined  Professor  Susie Nilsson’s team, where research is carried out into the haematopoietic stem cell niche, the immediate environment of stem cells, which provides the right conditions for multiplication and differentiation.

Australia is one of the M8 countries. In 2008, it became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and in 2009 the EMBL laboratories were founded, the majority of which (nine) are located at the Monash University. More than 5000 publications annually come from the university alone, many of which are published in specialist journals with a high impact factor. Since the 1990s, university research has focussed on regenerative medicine and stem cell research as well as infectious and immune diseases. Other important areas are cardiovascular diseases and thrombosis (Centre for Vascular Health and Australian Centre for Blood Diseases), as well as Public Health, Epidemiology and Medical Ethics. With 19 million US dollars annually, infrastructures for future-oriented technologies in molecular biology are sponsored, such as high-throughput protein production and purification, proteomics and collaboration with the Australian Synchrotron for genome research.

Germany is one of Australia’s most important scientific partners. The cooperation partners are the Alexander-von-Humboldt Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service and the German Research Association. The Ranke Heinemann Institute in Berlin, which represents the Australian-New Zealand University Association in the German-speaking world, facilitates research and knowledge transfer and the exchange of students and scientists.

The Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology Cooperation (FEAST) is a platform for promoting knowledge and technology transfer between the countries of the European Union and Australia and is intended to define the relevant tasks of science and medicine world-wide.

Monash University

Partner Symposium

Improved Global Health – New Products for Developing Countries

Research for Health Goods in Developing Countries is Needed.

Every day 35,000 deaths are caused by neglected diseases in low and middle income countries. These diseases are associated with poverty and are thus known as poverty-related diseases. The developing world is primarily affected by these diseases, which include malaria, tuberculosis, certain aspects of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and many others. One reason for the affection of the world’s poorest is that effective medical treatment is not available, accessible and affordable for those in need. Due to the fact that people in low and middle income countries do not constitute lack purchasing power, research and development of diagnostics, prevention technologies and treatment for neglected diseases do not constitute a focus of the private pharmaceutical industry’s research portfolios. This imbalance is also called the “10/90 Gap”, which refers to the fact that only 10% of worldwide expenditure on health and research and development is devoted to the problems that primarily affect the poorest 90% of the world's population.

“Millions of lives in developing countries could be saved if the research gap for poverty-related and neglected diseases was closed and essential, innovative, and affordable prevention technologies, vaccines, diagnostics and drugs for poor countries were developed and provided” states Renate Bähr, Executive Director of the German Foundation for World Population (DSW). During the last decade, Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) were established to address this matter. The mandate of PDPs is to provide long needed health goods for developing countries by creating enabling environments to accelerate product development and access. PDPs are a specific model of non-profit organisations bringing together private sector technologies and public sector resources that profoundly changed the international health research agenda. The work of PDPs furthers the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular the health related MDGs 4,5 and 6.

In order to highlight the various fields of PDP engagement, to discuss the challenges PDPs face in their work and to analyse their role within the Global Health architecture, the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) organizes a partner symposium on “Product Development Partnership (PDP) Research for Health Goods in Developing Countries” on Sunday, October 10th 2010 during which high-level experts from the field will focus on the following questions:

• What are PDPs and what are the characteristics of the PDP model?
• How are PDPs, the collaboration with and governance of public and private partners structured?
• How are technical issues of clinical development, regulatory approval, and access to innovative medicines managed by PDPs?
• What is the research gap for neglected diseases and what are opportunities and challenges in furthering the research agenda for neglected and poverty?
• Do PDPs collaborate with researchers, health sectors and local communities in developing countries and how do PDP link to development policies?
• Do external evaluations proof the effectiveness of the PDP model?
• What is the return on investments in PDPs?

Panel experts include:
Hannah Kettler | Senior Program Officer | The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | USA
Seth Berkley | President & Chief Executive Officer | The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative | USA
Shing Chang | Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) | Switzerland
Christopher J. Elias | President | Program for Appropiate Technology in Health (PATH) | USA
Zeda Rosenberg | CEO | International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) | USA
Dennis Schmatz | CEO | Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) | Switzerland
Mel Spigelman | CEO | Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) | USA
German Foundation for World Population 

DSW is organizing a Partner Symposium on “Product Development Partnership (PDP) Research for Health Goods in Developing Countries”. The session takes place on Sunday, October 10th 2010, 14.30 – 16.00 in session room “Langenbeck”.

Partner News

Sorbonne Paris Cité participates in the second World Health Summit

Sorbonne Paris Cité was the first Alliance for Research and Higher Education founded in Paris by decree of February 10, 2010. It combines eight universities and institutes with 120,000 students: New Sorbonne University, Paris Descartes University, Paris Diderot University, Paris 13 University, Institute of Earth Physics of Paris, National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Sciences Po and EHESP School of Public Health.

With its participation in the second World Health Summit, Sorbonne Paris Cité contributes significantly to a French-German cooperation which dates back to the first summit in 2009. The World Health Summit 2009 was organized at the initiative of two major medical universities in Germany and France, the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Paris Descartes University. "I am delighted that this productive French-German cooperation is now being continued by the participation and the support of Sorbonne Paris Cité", comments Prof. Detlev Ganten, Summit President.

Due to its high potential and quality in medical research and health policy, Sorbonne Paris Cité is a major academic partner for the World Health Summit. Five of its founding members are renowned institutions for health-related research and higher education: Paris Descartes University, Paris Diderot University, Paris 13 University, Sciences Po and EHESP School of Public Health. Medical and health-related disciplines represent about 40 % of all research and training activities of Sorbonne Paris Cité (i.e. 33,000 students in these disciplines, numerous training and research unities, and laboratories of international recognition).

“By participating in and supporting the World Health Summit, Sorbonne Paris Cité underlines its competence in health research in France and internationally", states Prof. Jean-François Girard, President of Sorbonne Paris Cité. At the summit 2010, Prof. Girard will be present as part of an internationally recognized delegation, with Prof. Antoine Flahault (EHESP President and member of the scientific committee of the World Health Summit), Prof. Axel Kahn (President of Paris Descartes University and past president of the summit), Dr. Patrick Chaussepied (Director of the department of health biology, National Research Agency) and Prof. Joël Menard (Professor of public health at Paris Descartes University).

Two members of Sorbonne Paris Cité are particularly involved with the World Health Summit, the EHESP and Paris Descartes University. The EHESP trains top public health executives on a national and international level, and provides diploma courses (masters, engineering and doctoral degrees) as well as a comprehensive selection of lifelong learning courses. Paris Descartes University focuses strongly on medical sciences, and possesses the leading French faculties of medicine and pharmacy.

www.sorbonne-paris-cite.fr
www.ehesp.fr
www.univ-paris5.fr

Partner News

Demographic Change

It is well-known that the global population is aging rapidly, owing largely to falling fertility rates and increasing life spans. By 2050, the number of older people (aged 60 years or above) in the world will exceed the number of children (under 15 years of age) for the first time in history.  Older people have complex healthcare requirements, which affect the cost and demand of healthcare services. Indeed, people’s demand for healthcare is mostly concentrated at the beginning of life (under 1 year old) and at the end, when people typically consume 80 percent of the entire healthcare they will require over their lifetime. Within this context of demand, the healthcare industry is already suffering from a workforce shortage, and the rapid increase in the aging population will create additional pressure on the healthcare systems.

Impact on Global Healthcare

Rise in healthcare demand

The demand for healthcare workers will increase, as many of them age and retire. Further, the demand for healthcare services will also see a surge, as an increasingly older population consumes a disproportionately large share of healthcare services. The following factors contribute to the increasing demand for healthcare services:

•    Greater use of healthcare services by older persons – The consumption of ambulatory care, hospital services, nursing home services and home healthcare services is greater among aged people than among younger people.

•     Multiple and complex care needs of older persons – Older people are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses than younger people.

Rise in healthcare cost and expenditure

Older people spend three to six times more on healthcare than individuals under the age of 65. ¹  Healthcare spending increases with the increasingly aging population, mainly because of their long-term care needs. In 2005, long-term care expenditure accounted for slightly over one percent of GDP, across OECD countries. By 2050, such spending is estimated to reach two to four percent of GDP. ²

•    According to estimates provided by the US Census Bureau, the proportion of older Americans is expected to reach 20 percent in 2030, from 13 percent in 2010. Therefore, even if the healthcare costs remain the same over this 20-year period, the impact on healthcare expenses will be considerably higher and older persons will account for nearly US$2 trillion of the annual healthcare expenses in 2030. However, population under the age of 65 will account for about US$1.8 trillion only. ³ 

•    Salaries of healthcare professionals are rising due to their increasing demand, resulting from the rapidly aging workforce. This, in turn, tends to put more pressure on governments in terms of healthcare spending.

Adapting to an aging world

Current healthcare services for elderly patients are not adequate to meet the needs of an increasingly older population, particularly in the area of community care. ⁴  Most countries are looking for ways to handle the rising pressure on healthcare systems. If healthcare is to adapt to an aging world, the following steps need to be taken:

•     Increasing focus on geriatric care – Not many people will choose to enter this field until it is given the attention it warrants within medical training. ⁵  One way of attracting talent could be to provide more money for training.

•    Increasing adoption of home-based care – Home-based care is currently in demand as medical advances allow patients to be treated at home, often at less cost. Further, the rapidly aging population is increasingly resulting in shortage of beds across healthcare facilities, which in turn is also pushing the demand for home-based care.⁶  Moreover, older people prefer to stay at home, which makes home-based care the perfect choice.

•    Increasing focus on drugs and treatments specifically for the older population – Pressures are building on pharmaceutical firms and other medical providers to focus more on drugs that meet the unique needs of older bodies. Although older bodies metabolize differently from younger bodies, rarely is a drug’s response and tolerance tested in older populations. With the older population becoming the fastest growing demographic, pharmaceutical firms have the opportunity to design drugs and treatments which are more appropriate for the older population. ⁷

•    Increasing funding – As the rapidly aging population and the workforce shortage are adding pressure to healthcare systems globally, government funding could help address the aging-related cost and management issues. The funding money can be utilized to open new aged-care facilities and train healthcare professionals, which will help reduce the rising pressure on the healthcare infrastructure and workforce.

•    Private sector participation is also improving in the healthcare sector, and private players are helping governments to meet the rising demands from an aging population. For instance, in the UK, healthcare is largely state-funded, but now the scenario is changing, with the private sector showing an interest in sharing the responsibility. It is already providing nursing home beds in the country. ⁸

•    Increasing focus on generic drugs – Healthcare costs are rising due to a surge in demand for healthcare services from the aging population. In the wake of these rising costs, many countries are shifting their focus to generic drugs because of their cost-effectiveness.

•    Increasing adoption of technology – The increased adoption of telemedicine and remote monitoring systems will improve the feasibility and safety of home-based care, making it more attractive to older persons. In addition to minimizing the need for physical movement of elderly patients and enhancing healthcare services coverage, the adoption of telemedicine will help address problems linked with healthcare costs and workforce shortages. ⁹

Further information on the sudy can be found at the KPMG website.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Volker Penter
Head of KPMG’s Health Care practice
KPMG in Germany
T +49 30 2068 4740
vpenter(at)kpmg.com

[1] Healthcare Reform, The Aging Baby Boomer Population, Stroke Treatment And Stem Cell Therapy, American  Chronicle, July 29, 2009

[2] Strategic options to finance pensions and healthcare in a rapidly ageing world, OECD, January 30, 2009

[3] Healthcare Reform, The Aging Baby Boomer Population, Stroke Treatment And Stem Cell Therapy, American Chronicle, July 29, 2009

[4] Aging population could overwhelm UK community care provision, MedWire News

[5] Healthcare strategies for an ageing society, EIU, 2009

[6] Global aging population driving the hospital bed market, The Medical News, January 30, 2010

[7] Healthcare strategies for an ageing society, EIU, 2009

[8] Healthcare strategies for an ageing society, EIU, 2009

[9] Healthcare strategies for an ageing population, EIU, 2009; Aging population has increased in demand of healthcare and telemedicine in particular, PR-inside, February 16, 2010

Partner News

Empowering Women by Improving Reproductive Health

Every year 14 million teenage women aged 15 to 19 give birth to a child with more than 90% of them living in developing countries. Here, the concept of family planning has been mostly unheard of and contraceptives are not readily available. Either they are too expensive or completely unknown. As a result, according to the annual report of the German Foundation for World Population (DSW), about 76 million women in developing countries have unwanted pregnancies every year.  Complications during pregnancy, birth or abortion result in half a million deaths per year. Other women suffer poverty or health problems as a result of having unplanned children.

World Health Summit Contact

World Health Summit Secretariat
c/o K.I.T Group GmbH
Association & Conference Management Group
Kurfürstendamm 71, 10709 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 246 03 240
registration2010(at)worldhealthsummit.org

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