Chair(s)

Introduction

For the future directions of drug development it is essential to consider demographic developments. Demographic analysis shows large differences in i) population density, ii) disease burden, iii) access to health care and iv) biomedical research.

There is no obvious connection between population density and disease burden. High incidences of HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria and neglected tropical diseases are typically observed in Africa and Asia. On the other hand, chronic non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, psychiatric diseases, cancer, bacterial infections and possible pandemics) are confined to Western Europe and north America, albeit that a rapid increase is observed in other parts of the world.

The observed regional differences in disease burden are disconnected from medical care. The highest densities of medical care are observed in regions in North America, Western Europe and Eastern Asia. The relative paucity of available medical care in the rest of the world is in sharp contrast with the high disease burden in Africa. Finally, scientific research is an activity that is almost exclusively confined to North America and Western Europe.

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