Research Project

Summary

New approaches to deal with long-standing global health inequities are long overdue. While life expectancies in industrialized countries are about 80 years and rising, in a number of developing countries, they are 40 years and falling. Canada has a special opportunity to help the world apply advances in genomics-based knowledge to deal with some of its most pressing problems: disease, poverty, hunger, and environmental degradation.

This unique research project, led by Drs. Peter Singer and Abdallah Daar, aims to strengthen genomics research, development, and commercialization in the developing world by examining how emerging world biotechnology companies can meet local health needs and achieve south-to-south collaboration in genomics innovation.  At the same time, it seeks to encourage advances in pharmacogenomics to address global health challenges and to promote effective use of agricultural genomics to ensure food security in developing countries.

This work is helping developing countries to share in the social and economic benefits of the genomics revolution, increasing public awareness of the potential for genomics to address global health and environmental challenges, and helping mobilize a unique vision for Canada’s role in the world.

Professors Peter A. Singer and Abdallah S. Daar are Senior Scientists and Directors of the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health, a research-based academic centre at the University Health Network and University of Toronto.

Significant Outcomes to Date

• Case studies in Ghana and Tanzania have resulted in the engagement of stakeholders in government and international finance about the creation of local Life Science Innovation Centres, the purpose of which would be to facilitate the development of local genomics/health biotech technologies targeting local health needs.
• Research in the emerging economies of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa has revealed a significant new pipeline of products to fight tropical diseases of the poor (HIV, malaria, TB, diarrheal diseases).  While available nationally or regionally, these unique health products are urgently needed worldwide.  This work has led to the development of the Global Health Accelerator model, designed to aid in the implementation of global commercialization strategies for these and other health products from emerging economies.
• The study of emerging market health biotechnology and genomics has resulted in the creation of a business model designed to facilitate commercialization partnerships between Canadian companies and their counterparts in emerging economies.  These efforts have already led to an Ontario-based diagnostic technology company partnering with a Brazilian biotech firm to conduct clinical trials for an HIV resistance diagnostic in Brazil.
• A collection of international qualitative case study results was published in October 2008 as a supplement issue of Nature Reviews Genetics (see notable publications below).  The supplement, entitled “Genomic Medicine in Developing Countries,” contained articles describing findings from Mexico, India, Thailand, and South Africa.

Notable Publications
Séguin, B., Hardy, B., Singer, PA., Daar, AS.  2008. Human genomic variation initiatives in emerging economies and developing countries.  Nature Reviews Genetics 9(10):s3

Hardy, B., Séguin, B., Ramesar, R., Singer, PA., Daar, AS.  2008. South Africa: from species cradle to genomic applications.  Nature Reviews Genetics 9(10):s19

Hardy, B., Séguin, B., Goodsaid, F., Jimenez-Sanchez, G., Singer, PA., Daar, AS.  2008.  The next steps for genomic medicine: challenges and opportunities for the developing world.  Nature Reviews Genetics 9(10):s23-s27

Séguin, B., Hardy, BJ., Singer, PA., Daar, AS.  2008.  Genomic medicine and developing countries: creating a room of their own.  Nature Reviews Genetics 9(6): 487-93

Frew, SE., Sammut, SM., Shore, AF., Ramjist, JK., Al-Bader, S., Rezaie, R., Daar, AS., Singer, PA.  2008.  Chinese health biotech and the billion-patient market.  Nature Biotechnology 26(1): 37-53

Frew SE, Rezaie R, Sammut SM, Ray M, Daar AS, and Singer PA. 2007. India’s health biotech sector at a crossroads. Nat  Biotech. 24(4):403-17.

To read about Drs. Peter Singer and Abdallah Daar’s ‘Strengthening the Role of Genomics and Global Health’ research project, funded through OGI, click here.