On January 8th, Bill Gates spoke with an audience of health care professionals, and made the business case for pursuing breakthroughs in global health.

He outlined ambitious goals for global health, such as cutting the number of annual deaths of children under five down to 2.5 million in the next 15 years. And as he asked the private sector to join the Gates Foundation and its partners in this work, which is the key priority of the largest foundation in the world, he made the case not in terms of corporate social responsibility, but rather because it makes good business sense.

It’s really the private sector that has the skills, experience, the capacity to turn discoveries into the viable products. And so that’s why this engagement is so critical.

When it comes to backing high risk science and staying patient, philanthropy can complement the government, and serve as a bridge to the private sector, he said. Academic insights are not enough, Gates continued, noting the importance of biotechnology expertise from manufacturability to cost reduction.

Read the full article on the business case for global health by Catherine Cheney at Devex International Development