Use open innovation to treat world’s ills, says Nurse

Today’s global health challenges cannot be met by relying solely on market forces, according to Royal Society president Paul Nurse.

Instead, public-private partnerships between companies, governments, academia and charities are needed, he said. “We cannot be driven simply by the marketplace; we have to be driven by a respect for humanity and improvement in the human condition.” 

The Francis Crick Institute, of which Nurse is director, will adopt such an approach when it is launched in late 2015, he said at a meeting hosted by the Royal Society on 5 March.