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New Study Finds That UCLA and Other Top Research Universities Have Done Little To Make New Drugs Accessible
Apr 06 2021
Despite gobbling up taxpayer dollars, UCLA and other top U.S. research universities are not doing enough to make drugs and medical devices financially accessible to people in low-income countries, a new report found.
<p>Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, a student-run nonprofit focused on making costly medicines cheaper worldwide, used public data and a survey to rank 60 universities on their dedication to improve health disparities in low-income countries.</p><p>UCLA and 16 other top public universities that develop drug treatments got a D-minus rating for centering much of their research around private companies and failing to prioritize global health. The report also found the university failed to fund many projects that would help treat <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/ntd/diseases/index.html" target="_blank"><u>neglected diseases</u></a> most common in low-income countries.</p><p>Avani Reddy, a neuroscience student at UCLA and one a member of UAEM, said the group compiled the report to ensure that her school and other universities were developing drugs at "sustainable prices and not obnoxious prices."</p><p>Georgetown and Harvard ranked highest with a B- while other UC system schools, including San Francisco and Davis, also got Ds, while Irvine got a F. </p><p>UCLA declined to respond to questions about the study, but said the university did not participate. UAEM ranked universities that did not respond lower than those that did. </p><p>"It should be that that research is accessible to people," said Devika Shenoy, a UCLA student and UAEM member studying human biology and society.</p><p>The 20-year-old student organization was born out of an effort by Yale University students to make an HIV/AIDS drug developed at the school and distributed by Bristol-Myers Squibb cheaper for low-income countries by allowing for the production of generics.</p><p> UCLA received $840 million in federal dollars for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, <a href="https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-draws-record-research-dollars-1-4-billion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>much of which went towards the medical and life sciences schools</u></a>.</p><p>UAEM wants major federally funded research universities to focus on the issues big pharma companies find less profitable, like when Johns Hopkins <a href="https://medicinespatentpool.org/news-publications-post/the-medicines-patent-pool-announces-first-licence-for-tuberculosis-treatment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>surrendered a tuberculosis drug</u></a> to a United Nations-supported organization to distribute the drug royalty-free. These schools, UAEM argues, should serve a larger public good in part because the public is paying for the research.</p><p>"Universities hold influence to leverage their significant contribution in biomedical research to advance global access to essential medicines and health technologies," the UAEM report said, pointing to the fact that one-third of new medicines originate in universities, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd3251" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>according to a 2010 report</u></a>.</p><p>UCLA has come under fire for drug access before. In 2016, the school sold a drug it developed to treat prostate cancer to Royalty Pharma. When a <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2018/03/30/students-ucla-xtandi-patent/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>generic drug company in India</u></a> tried to reproduce it, the school filed a patent claim, sparking protests. Ultimately, UCLA prevailed. But the incident highlights the pressure public-funded research universities are under to make their discoveries available and the competing demand from a market that relies on them.</p><p>Low and middle-income countries "may not have access to those resources to invest in R&D the way that schools like UCLA can in order to ensure that global public health needs are really being prioritized," Shenoy said.</p><p>COVID has brought these issues to the forefront. Oxford University originally developed its COVID-19 vaccine with the promise it would be open source so it could be distributed in low-income countries at a low cost or for free. Instead, <a href="https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>it became the AstraZenca vaccine</u></a> after the Gates Foundation brokered a deal between the two parties.</p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/31/world/global-vaccine-supply-inequity.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>only 0.1% of COVID-19 vaccines have made it to low-income countries</u></a>. In 2020, organizations like Amnesty International warned that <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4809" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>many in low-income countries would not have access to patented vaccines</u></a> owned by wealthier countries. Vaccines specifically made with cheaper and accessible materials <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/health/hexapro-mclellan-vaccine.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>have just begun clinical trials</u></a>, and pharma giant Pfizer<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-to-test-covid-19-vaccine-that-doesnt-need-ultracold-storage-11617129345?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=118870797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-98WCzp1Ln4TDHcSUT-Ju8Z1fNtnhTHY96h97TdNnO5xxmBTIYZBbKPyXfmEgSXnC5NcG0EA3-5LGqB8HrZ-p6YR-xZ4w&utm_content=118848281&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> will start testing a freeze-dried vaccine</u></a> that can withstand higher temperatures this month.</p><p>Universities play a sizable role in the pharmaceutical pipeline, especially in preclinical development, according to Bill Bolding, a senior analyst at Provident Healthcare Partners. Venture firms and pharma companies rarely start investing in bioscience companies until there is proof of concept, much of which is created in university labs.</p><p>"Usually what you're seeing in the preclinical level is you're seeing like some kind of chemical reaction or proof of some kind of technology, in vitro," Bolding said.</p>
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Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, county health officials and private labs are ramping up COVID-19 testing capacity as people anxious to visit family flock to centers and cases rise.
Los Angeles County has recently added some 6,000 appointments to testing locations across the region and expanded testing hours. This week, LAX started offering COVID tests to fliers for $150, just ahead of what is normally one of the busiest travel seasons.
It comes as coronavirus cases have surged back to alarming levels and demand for testing rises. Wait times at county testing stations are now running 10 to 20 minutes, and they could grow in the weekend leading up to Thanksgiving as more seek testing.
<p>Experts warn that a test doesn't guarantee that travelers won't bring the virus to Thanksgiving dinner. </p><p>"There isn't a testing strategy that makes Thanksgiving 'safe'," said Omai Garner, director of clinical microbiology at UCLA, who oversees testing for UCLA Health. "Thanksgiving should only be celebrated within households that have been pods through the pandemic."</p><p>The rise in cases led Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday to impose a "limited stay-at-home order" between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m for a month starting Saturday. </p><p>Still, as coronavirus cases swell across the country, lines at testing centers are getting longer. And private labs are preparing for the holiday season. </p><p>Curative Inc., which has administered two million tests in L.A., saw a 35% increase in testing this week. In that time alone, the startup ran 25,000 COVID tests. And other labs are opening up more sites. </p><p>Spokesman Ken Sanderman said the company is gearing up for more by expanding hours of operation at some testing sites including Dodger Stadium. That location will stay open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. </p><p>"We are anticipating a surge in patients coming to get tested through the rest of the year with the holiday seasons and rates rising, and have prepared in anticipation," Sanderman said.</p><p>Other labs, like Santa Monica-based Quantgene, are opening new test sites almost weekly. The startup that once supplied mostly production studios opened its second walk-in site — this one in Culver City — on Tuesday. </p><p>Spokeswoman Rachel Strohmeyer said the company is looking into opening more locations in East L.A. More clients are scheduling appointments to get nasal swab tests before travel, a trend "we only expect to continue," she said. </p><p>This week, the CDC warned Americans <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">against traveling</a> for Thanksgiving and urged them to celebrate at home instead. California has sent more counties back into the most restrictive category in the state's <a href="https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reopening scheme</a>. Over 94% of the state's population rests in that purple tier, including L.A. County.</p><p>The county is strongly encouraging residents to "not use testing as a permission slip to engage in unsafe activities," according to an emailed statement from the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management. </p>
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Researchers are getting closer to using bionics to treat patients with memory loss and depression, but they'll have to address some crucial questions before it's commercialized. That's what three neurology UCLA researchers and professors said during the dot.LA Summit panel "Building the Bionic Human in L.A." hosted by managing editor Rachel Uranga.
Most of these concerns have to do with the ethics, safety and security of implanting brain chips, which are designed to stimulate memory functions for patients with Alzheimer's or inhibit them for patients with PTSD.
<p>And they were skeptical about Neuralink founder Elon Musk's <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-launches-neuralink-to-connect-brains-with-computers-1490642652" target="_blank">promises</a> to quickly bring to market a device that interfaces with the brain that Musk says could ease depression or other ailments. The bottom line, they said, was that there's still a gap between the technology and what researchers know about the brain. </p><p>"What are the guarantees that we can provide for these devices? Can I guarantee it'll work on ten out of ten patients and if not, is it worth the risk associated with the implant?" said Fabien Scalzo, assistant professor of neurology and computer science at UCLA. "I think there are still a lot of questions regarding that."</p><p>Each of the panelists focus on a different aspect of bionic engineering at UCLA: Scalzo works with a team to produce the hardware that Nader Pouratian implants into the brain. Meanwhile, Nanthia Suthana examines its effects on the patient's neurological functions. </p><p>Pouratian, a professor and vice chair of neurology at UCLA's school of medicine, said brain stimulation devices evolved from cardiac pacemakers, the first of which were developed in the 1970s. </p><p>"It's the same idea," he said. "We've been using that technology for over two decades. It hasn't changed radically in that time until very recently." </p><p>Today, engineers, scientists and neurosurgeons are rallying around an industry that's seen rapid growth. Specifically, they're working to stimulate the brain with greater precision and listen to brain activity, similar to the way doctors listen to the heart. The other key component of development includes improving the patient experience. Think scaling down the size of these devices and making them both wireless and rechargeable. </p><p>"The fear of brain stimulators has significantly diminished," said Pouratian. "As we expand and understand that better and make it safer, I think we're going to see it much more commonly accepted and sought after." </p><p>The devices in development are largely geared toward helping people with ongoing conditions, but Pouratian said he could see a day when people use them cosmetically to enhance memory, for example. The prospect could potentially expand human potential but would raise a whole host of concerns including access and the possibility of these devices being hacked. </p><p>Suthana, a UCLA assistant professor of neurosurgery and bioengineering, said some of the fears you hear surrounding bionic solutions might be premature. </p><p>"We're not quite where people might think we are in terms of doing these nefarious things that people suggest or 'Black Mirror' likes to show in their shows," she said. "But it's still absolutely critical to think about these things before we go down this road." </p>
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