The financial risks and extraordinary scientific challenges of developing a vaccine against HIV have long discouraged many drug companies from seriously investing in the effort. Yet it is these companies that have mastered the highly specialized science and technology of converting prototype vaccines into viable products.

To address this issue, IAVI is working with policymakers, governments and like-minded organizations around the world to figure out creative ways to make the development of vaccines against AIDS—and other neglected diseases—a more attractive proposition for drug manufacturers.

Examples of incentives that hold promise include:

• US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Priority Review Vouchers: A recently approved US government measure that provides companies that successfully develop technologies for tropical diseases vouchers for expedited FDA review of their other products
• Advance Market Commitment: A legally binding agreement that would guarantee drug companies market rates for vaccines for developing countries, up to a certain volume of sales. After that volume has been reached, the manufacturer would be obliged to sell the vaccine at prices affordable to developing countries, which need them the most. This mechanism is being tested in a pilot stage to speed the development of vaccines against pneumococcal disease and has been backed by financial commitments from the governments of Canada, Italy, Norway, Russia, and the United Kingdom, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation