Buyers' role in innovation procurement: Evidence from US military R&D contracts
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Decarolis F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8597003 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundResponsible innovation in health (RIH) emphasizes the importance of developing technologies that are responsive to system-level challenges and support equitable and sustainable healthcare. To help decision-makers identify whether an innovation fulfills RIH requirements, we developed and validated an evidence-informed assessment tool comprised of 4 inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9 assessment attributes and a scoring system.MethodsWe conducted an inter-rater reliability assessment to establish the extent to which 2 raters agree when applying the RIH Tool to a diversified sample of health innovations (n=25). Following the Tool's 3-step process, sources of information were collected and cross-checked to ensure their clarity and relevance. Ratings were reported independently in a spreadsheet to generate the study's database. To measure inter-rater reliability, we used: a non-adjusted index (percent agreement), a chance-adjusted index (Gwet's AC) and the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results of the Tool's application to the whole sample of innovations are summarized through descriptive statistics.ResultsOur findings show complete agreement for the screening criteria, "almost perfect" agreement for 7 assessment attributes, "substantial" agreement for 2 attributes and "almost perfect" agreement for the RIH overall score. A large portion of the sample obtained high scores for 6 attributes (health relevance, health inequalities, responsiveness, level and intensity of care and frugality) and low scores for 3 attributes (ethical, legal, and social issues [ELSIs], inclusiveness and eco-responsibility). At the rating step, 88% of the innovations had a sufficient number of attributes documented (≥ 7/9), but the assessment was based on sources of moderate to high quality (mean score ≥ 2 points) for 36% of the sample. While "Almost all RIH features" were present for 24% of the innovations (RIH mean score between 4.1-5.0 points), "Many RIH features" were present for 52% of the sample (3.1-4.0 points) and "Few RIH features" were present for 24% of the innovations (2.1-3.0 points).ConclusionBy confirming key aspects of the RIH Tool's reliability and applicability, our study brings its development to completion. It can be jointly put into action by innovation stakeholders who want to foster innovations with greater social, economic and environmental value.
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Project description:Despite recognition in the West that military veterans experience more mental health issues than the general population, little research has focused on this subject in China. This study examined the associations between male veterans' military experience and depression in China. A sample of 12,914 men including 669 veterans was included in the final analysis and propensity score matching, multivariable regressions and fixed effect model were used. The military experience was associated with a lower likelihood of depression in male veterans. In the subgroup analysis, military experience was associated with a lower likelihood of depression among married and urban male veterans. Military experience was also associated with a lower likelihood of depression in both "junior college and above" and "below junior college" groups. In contrast, evidence was lacking regarding the associations between military experience and depression for unmarried and rural veterans. Individual characteristics could influence the relationship between military experience and depression in male veterans, and the mental health of veterans should be paid more attention and guaranteed.
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Project description:PurposeThe use of radioprotectors and radiomitigators could improve the therapeutic index of radiation therapy. With the intention of accelerating translation of radiation-effect modulators (radioprotectors and mitigators), the Radiation Research Program and SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Development Center within the National Cancer Institute issued 4 Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from 2010 to 2013. Twelve SBIR contract awards in total were made in response to the 4 RFPs from September 2011 through September 2014. Here, we provide an update on the status of SBIR contract projects for the development of radiation-effect modulators.Methods and materialsTo assess the status of research and development efforts under the 4 RFPs on radiation-effect modulators, we searched PubMed for research articles, google.com for published abstracts, clinicaltrials.gov for ongoing or completed clinical trials, and company websites for press releases and other news. All information obtained and reported here is publicly available and thus protects the intellectual property of the investigators and companies.ResultsOf the 12 SBIR projects funded, 5 (42%) transitioned successfully from phase 1 to phase 2 SBIR funding, and among the Fast-Track contracts, this rate was 100% (3 of 3). The Internet search identified 3 abstracts and 6 publications related to the aims of the SBIR contracts. One-third of the companies (4 of 12) have successfully launched a total of 8 clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of their investigational agents. Two drugs are in clinical trials for their indication as a radioprotector, and 2 drugs are under evaluation for their anticancer properties (an immunomodulator and a small molecule inhibitor).ConclusionsThe National Cancer Institute's SBIR has provided pivotal funding to small businesses for the development of radioprotectors and radiomitigators, which resulted in multiple early-phase clinical trials. Longer follow-up is needed to determine the full impact of these novel therapeutics that enter clinical practice.
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Project description:This study empirically examined the impact of financing innovation on technological innovation efficiency of select internet companies, that were affiliated with China between 2008 and 2017. Analysis was based on their patent and annual report data and used multiple input-output SFA model, system GMM, and panel fixed-effect model. The results are as follows. (1) There is significant variation in overall technological innovation efficiency of listed companies in the internet industry, and there is a downward trend. The technological innovation efficiency of business that use financing innovation methods is higher than those that do not. (2) The number of patents and intangible capital investment of internet businesses increase obviously every year, but there is no corresponding increase in the efficiency of technological innovation, and little intangible capital investment of non-financing innovation businesses. Thus, determining how to effectively improve the overall quality of patents and the efficiency of intangible capital investment is essential to improve the efficiency of technological innovation for Chinese internet businesses. (3) There is a term mismatch in the investment and financing of internet businesses in China. The financing structure between the financing innovation and non-financing innovation businesses has different impacts on the efficiency of technological innovation. And nowadays, more financing channels are short-term debt financing channels which invest in projects to improve the efficiency of technological innovation due to the pressure of debt repayment and the need to protect shareholders' interests. (4) In the panel regression, the coefficients of Icd and Roa are significantly negative, suggesting that the investment efficiency of internet businesses needs to be improved.
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