Oxymoron no more: The potential of nonprofit drug companies to deliver on the promise of medicines for the developing world

Although some pharmaceutical company efforts to develop and distribute drugs in developing countries have been successful, many fall short of meeting needs in resource-poor nations. In the context of public-private partnerships, we discuss the concept of a nonprofit pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and distributing drugs for diseases endemic in developing countries. Using the experience of the Institute for OneWorld Health, we present the vision, core elements of the product development model, and challenges confronting this model. Despite limitations, early successes raise hopes that a nonprofit drug company can exist successfully both as a global health organization and as a business.