Innovation in Pharma
The traditional pharma method for drug development is high-risk exploration and invention. R&D spending is the major expense for pharmaceutical companies. However, an approach called high throughput screening offers a disruptive alternative model - in essence, drugs that have been approved by the FDA for one treatment are screened against test-tube models of other conditions to see if they are effective. This innovation allows much much faster assessment, at much lower cost.
Some people, like the John Hopkins group linked above, are doing HPS to explore low cost drugs for the developing world. Others, like Kate Mitchell at BA Venture Partners, are looking to create new intellectual property by patenting new uses for drugs whose patents are expiring (you’ll have to scroll for the blurb).