Conceptualization of the ASEAN-NDI
The ASEAN Network for Drugs, Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Traditional Medicines Innovation (ASEAN-NDI) was founded in 2009 in line with the objectives of the GSPA-PHI, which include promotion of R&D, development of North–South and South–South partnerships to support capacity building, and establishment of strategic research networks to facilitate better coordination of stakeholders. It was conceptualized to parallel the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI), a network championed by the World Health Organization Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (WHO-TDR), which started the idea of establishing regional innovation networks.
The ASEAN-NDI is a regional innovation network composed of the ASEAN member states, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its concept was proposed by the Philippines to the ASEAN and was first discussed among the ASEAN member states during the 40th Meeting of the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Biotechnology (SCB) in Bali, Indonesia on 25–26 May 2009, and was later adopted by the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (COST) as its own initiative. The ASEAN, through the COST, approved the creation of the ASEAN-NDI in 2009. Start-up funds to support the establishment of the Network were provided by the WHO-TDR. The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) served as the secretariat of the ASEAN-NDI, with its Executive Director, Dr. Jaime Montoya, as the overall coordinator (see Figure 1).