New Initiative on Systemic Investing in the Brain Economy Geneva, London

Designs of the new initiative on Systemic Investing in the Brain Economy are emerging, following two important meetings, in Geneva and in London, in May and June 2024. In the area of health, the rationale for the new Initiative comes with enormous unmet medical needs, the growing impact of demography, and the need to finance the rollout of breakthrough diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Only a fraction of these projects is funded today. In the emerging countries, this is coupled with the more fundamental question of access to neurology care, often more than scarce. And then, given that this is about the brain economy, there is the prerogative of reskilling, bringing out what is most valuable in the cognitive and emotional mix that makes who we are.

Justified reasons for intervention as well as agreed indicators and metrics are essential. The existing data regarding the global burden of disease as well as projections of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation on the impact of demographic shifts in disorders whose prevalence is higher in older population, provide a powerful case for acting early. The World Health Organisation work on integrating measures of brain health throughout life, starting in the phase of neurodevelopment, is foundational. A framework will also be needed to account for the relevant determinants and outcomes in brain skills and cognitive as well as emotional resilience.

What is different and novel about the concept of the brain economy is that it brings together different strands of policy to advance human thriving in the face of technological change and growing health challenges. When ready to go, the design of the initiative will cover a range of activities, from transformative innovations to delivery of care. The focus will be on the entire lifespan, in a way that goes beyond the constraints of medical classifications. Innovative funding models will be critical, with optimal public sector interventions aimed at de-risking and leveraging private investment, drawing on the EIB model.

These contours will now be crafted further, in time for the Brain Economy Plenary of the UN Science Summit in New York on 18 September. Inputs are more than welcome!