Biotech Updates

Open Source Biotechnology Platforms for Global Health and Development: Two Case Studies

April 1, 2011

Hassan Masum and colleagues at the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health have published a Report that examines the potential of open source biotechnology platforms for global health and development using Cambia and India's Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) projects. The two case studies have shared the goal of addressing basic needs of the developing world and have each implemented principles of the open source movement in different ways. In open source biotechnology for global health and development, at least three linked senses of "open" should be considered: open access, open licensing, and open collaborative platforms. The Report concluded that biotechnology for global health and development can move ahead through its own version of open source practices and collaborative online platforms.

The Report can be accessed at  http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/697/295