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I would also add that the reason that nobody has developed a better condom is that there is no profit in doing so. At a minimum you are looking at a couple of

I would also add that the reason that nobody has developed a better condom is that there is no profit in doing so. At a minimum you are looking at a couple of million in research, more if you want to go crazy with material science. Then you have the cost of testing, approval etc. After that you have marketing. It's a great project that will save many lives but the cost/risk analysis alone would put off any for profit organization. The fact that the Gates Foundation is having to get involved is a sign that the market simply isn't going to solve this one. (Government research probably won't deliver it either, at least in the US, due to the politics around contraception)

UweSchmidt 12y ago
The "no profit" statement made me curious. First link I found http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/MarketInsight/Consumer-Goods/Global-Condom-Industry/NI8052 http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/MarketInsight/Consumer-Go... claims that "The global condom industry has been forecast to hit a market value of US$5.4 billion by 2018". If you have the material science worked out you're mass producing a few grams of latex, selling to non-price sensitive customers, and can even market it as an "entertainment product" as the article states.
sebular 12y ago
What a ridiculous and false assertion-- all you've demonstrated is that there are costs of entering the market. That says nothing about the potentially enormous profits to be made if your redesigned condom beats the competition and becomes a new consumer favorite. Condoms are purchased by people in a wide age range, income bracket, geographic location, etc. Even a small percentage of the total market would be an enormous amount of money. You might as well have said that Tesla Motors was a terrible idea, arguing that there's no money to be made in automobiles because of all the upfront costs of designing cars, building factories, and obtaining regulatory permission. In fact, the entire point of starting any business is to overcome upfront costs by seeking long-term profits.

UweSchmidt 12y ago

The "no profit" statement made me curious. First link I found http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/MarketInsight/Consumer-Goods/Global-Condom-Industry/NI8052 http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/MarketInsight/Consumer-Go... claims that "The global condom industry has been forecast to hit a market value of US$5.4 billion by 2018". If you have the material science worked out you're mass producing a few grams of latex, selling to non-price sensitive customers, and can even market it as an "entertainment product" as the article states.

sebular 12y ago

What a ridiculous and false assertion-- all you've demonstrated is that there are costs of entering the market. That says nothing about the potentially enormous profits to be made if your redesigned condom beats the competition and becomes a new consumer favorite. Condoms are purchased by people in a wide age range, income bracket, geographic location, etc. Even a small percentage of the total market would be an enormous amount of money. You might as well have said that Tesla Motors was a terrible idea, arguing that there's no money to be made in automobiles because of all the upfront costs of designing cars, building factories, and obtaining regulatory permission. In fact, the entire point of starting any business is to overcome upfront costs by seeking long-term profits.