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Please note: the information in the course manual is binding.
After completion of the course, the student is able to:
- describe, interpret, and critically reflect the mutual relation between sustainability and health, focusing on present-day sustainable healthcare topics and taking the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into account;
- analyze the current deficits in the innovation system of medicines and medical technology development;
- analyze potential solution directions to the weaknesses in the current health innovation system;
- evaluate conditions for sustainable drug development.
- integrate reforms of various sub-systems in medical technology development;
- design an alternative business model for sustainable medical technology development.
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- Health and sustainability, health and climate change, health and development, international health policy, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
- Rise and fall of the pharmaceutical industry;
- Marketing of drugs and medical technology (marketing to professionals, direct and indirect marketing to consumers);
- Regulation of drugs, diagnostics and medical technology, e.g. market authorization, reimbursement, pharmacovigilance, professional guidelines, specific regulation for e.g. orphan drugs and WHO essential drugs;
- Patents, IP issues and drugs/diagnostics/medical technology; patents and innovation, patents as strategic tool, patents and ethics, equal access to medicines;
- The role of the academic world in drugs/medical technology development: commercialization of science, open access developments;
- The relevance of animal studies in drugs/medical technology development;
- Access to drugs, vaccines and diagnostics;
- Health & equity; health & ethics aspects.
The students write individual essays in which they critically reflect on these various subthemes of the course, developing their own substantiated argumentation line about the topic. Groups of 2 students pick a paper theme which they will study in depth. In week 2 students start reading about the problem area, the possible technological solutions and the relation to sustainability and health in general, and they develop a brief work plan for their paper. This workplan will be discussed with their supervisors. During week 4-8 students transform their work plan in a draft paper based on insights from literature and guest-lectures. During weekly tutorials parts of the paper will be discussed and students will give peer-feedback on each other’s draft. Results of the paper project will be presented in an expert workshop in week 8. By the end of week 9 the final paper has to be finished, based on comments from the expert panel and the supervisor on the draft version. In week 9 there is also a written exam.
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