A New Solution Suggesting the Need for a New Equation (Innovations Case Discussion: The Institute for OneWorld Health)

When Victoria Hale first came up with the notion of starting the Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH), some cautioned that the idea of a non-profit pharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat neglected diseases was a proven loser. The more direct among them might also have inquired why a successful scientist, trained in being analytic, consistent and logical, would undertake such an evidently hopeless project. Yet a few years later, iOWH has not only achieved its first drug approval (i.e. Paramomycin for the treatment of leishmaniasis or ‘black fever’, approved for use in India), it has also seen that same drug included in WHO’s Essential Medicines list, and has research results in the New England Journal of Medicine. This turnaround raises a question: Did skeptics fail to grasp Hale’s clever insights, misjudge the depth of her commitment, or underestimate the extent of her potential good fortune? Put more simply, is Hale’s a story of smarts, guts, and luck?