Promoting public health research in BRICS through a multinational public health prize fund.

This article proposes the establishment of a prize fund to incentivise public health research within the BRICS association, which comprises the five major emerging world economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This would stimulate cooperative healthcare research within the group and, on the proviso that the benefits of the research are made freely available within the association, would be rewarding for researchers. The results of the research stimulated by the prize would provide beneficial new healthcare technologies, targeting the most vulnerable and needy groups. The proposed fund is consistent with current international patent law and would not only avoid some of the problems associated with the "Health Impact Fund", but also create a new model for healthcare research.