Straight outta the tropics: pathological features of techno-scientific promises in neglected tropical disease research

FERPOZZI, HUGO

Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society

Routledge

Año: 2020 vol. 3 p. 205 - 226

2572-9861

To gain support, techno-scientific promises need to be credible and address legitimate issues. This article examines techno-scientific promises in neglected tropical disease research, a group of infectious diseases that affect one billion individuals but remain largely excluded from the scope of the pharmaceutical industry. While international health agencies and philanthropy support research and intervention strategies in endemic regions, new techno-scientific promises stem from large-scale genomics initiatives aimed at discovering drugs and novel medical technologies. Focusing on Chagas disease research in Argentina, this article explores the dynamics of promises and expectations in peripheral locations of science, where local issues such as neglected tropical diseases are deemed legitimate objects of research efforts but depend on international connections with the scientific mainstream to become credible. In a context marked by the rise of global health and the recent engagement of the pharmaceutical industry, the dynamics of such promises result in specific pathological features: namely, the asymmetry between beneficiaries and technical decision-makers; the inability to invest in an economy of hope embodied in potential healthcare technologies; and the irreversibility of techno-scientific promises, whereby biomedical researchers in endemic regions ensure credibility and resources at the expense of strengthening ties with international, rather than local, stakeholders.