Awards
- Nominated for Don K. Price Award 2013
- Nominated for Ludwik Fleck Prize 2013
- Nominated for Pfizer Award 2013
- Nominated for Sidney Edelstein Prize 2013
Overview
At the turn of the twenty-first century, the United States contended with a state-run biological warfare program, bioterrorism, and a pandemic. Together, these threats spurred large-scale government demand for new vaccines, but few have materialized. A new anthrax vaccine has been a priority since the first Gulf War, but twenty years and a billion dollars later, the United States still does not have one. This failure is startling. Historically, the United States has excelled at responding to national health emergencies. World War II era programs developed ten new or improved vaccines, often in time to meet the objectives of particular military missions. Probing the history of vaccine development for factors that foster timely innovation, Kendall Hoyt discovered that vaccine innovation has been falling, not rising, since World War II. This finding is at odds with prevailing theories of market-based innovation and suggests that a collection of nonmarket factors drove mid-century innovation. Ironically, many late-twentieth-century developments that have been celebrated as a boon for innovation-the birth of a biotechnology industry and the rise of specialization and outsourcing-undercut the collaborative networks and research practices that drove successful vaccine projects in the past. Hoyt's timely investigation teaches important lessons for our efforts to rebuild twenty-first-century biodefense capabilities, especially when the financial payback for a particular vaccine is low, but the social returns are high.
Full Product Details
Author: Kendall Hoyt
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Imprint: Harvard University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.499kg
ISBN: 9780674061583
ISBN 10: 0674061586
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 12 February 2012
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Professional & Vocational
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
Innovations in research and development and the importance of vaccines to public health--second only to clean water--are vital issues...All citizens need to know more about these subjects. -- Mary Chitty Library Journal 20120215
Author Information
Kendall Hoyt is Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School and Lecturer, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College.
