Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Creates a Medical Research Institute

posted by martyb on Friday June 15 2018, @08:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the saving-lives-is-good-business dept.
Techonomics

takyon writes:

The Gates Foundation rolls outs details of its new biotech, one without a profit motive

There's a new biotech in town. And it doesn't care about making money. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spun out a nonprofit biotech offspring, the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. With funding of $273 million for its first four years, the organization is in an enviable position.

"We don't have to worry about revenue, return on investment. Our bottom line is lives saved. So it's a pretty exciting place to be," Dr. Penny Heaton, the institute's CEO, explained in an interview with STAT this week. Though the institute opened its doors — in temporary space in Cambridge, Mass. — in early January, Heaton introduced it to the biotech world on Thursday at the BIO International Convention in Boston.

The institute's focus is on diseases that disproportionately affect the poor: malaria, tuberculosis, and enteric diseases. The latter are diseases — caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites — that attack the digestive system. They can cause life-threatening, even fatal bouts of diarrhea, disrupt nutrient absorption, and stunt development.

Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Creates a Medical Research Institute | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 6 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)

  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday June 15 2018, @09:27AM (1 child)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 15 2018, @09:27AM (#693402) Journal

    The institute's focus is on diseases that disproportionately affect the poor: ... and enteric diseases. The latter are diseases — caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites — that attack the digestive system. They can cause life-threatening, even fatal bouts of diarrhea, disrupt nutrient absorption, and stunt development.

    They'll study shit!

    Literally but not exclusively, to be precise

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @09:55AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @09:55AM (#693411)

      Gates gives the poor something for free... and it's a faecal transplant!

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @10:38AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @10:38AM (#693418)

    This is just bigger needles and smaller camels.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by looorg on Friday June 15 2018, @11:44AM

    by looorg (578) on Friday June 15 2018, @11:44AM (#693443)

    So what kind of horrible disease is it that Bill has gotten now that he needs to cure under the pretense of it being for the poor?

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @03:18PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @03:18PM (#693524)

    http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Gates_Foundation_Critique [techrights.org]

    The Gates Foundation was described as a shell for tax avoidance by philanthropist and accounting expert, Sheldon Drobny. Techrights has collected evidence that shows the same and will organize it here. Through the foundation, Bill, Melinda and Microsoft maintain pharmaceutical patent investments, tobacco investments, investments in alcoholic beverages, petroleum investments, investments in experimental and controversial crops, and even investments in news/media. Gates need not even pay tax, though he keeps control of the assets and uses that control to influence private and public policy. Money talks and politicians can in turn be persuaded to buy from Microsoft. This dependence/lock-in cascades down to businesses and homes, creating a revenue stream that would not exist in a free market. Gates is also able to bring public money to himself through energy and public health policy. As Gates has diversified, his corrupting influence has spread to other portions of the economy.

    We have provided extensive evidence for the above claims in many past summaries which include the following (sorted in chronological order although we took a much closer look in later years). As Techrights will report fraud in other areas as it is discovered.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @06:29PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 15 2018, @06:29PM (#693628)

      Thanks for the big picture view.

      Don't remember where I saw the reference, but at the other end, the people working with grants from Gates Foundation did not seem to be enjoying the experience. Too many reviews and too much micro management, expectations that innovative science can be done on a tight schedule, and similar problems. I wonder what the working environment will be like at this new biotech company that is owned by GF (as opposed to a university or other independent research group working with GF grant money). Since this is a "hot" field, the best kind of working conditions will probably be necessary to retain the best and brightest...

(1)