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Crowdfunding of science

Egor VoroninThe Immunity Project invites everyone to chip in to test their HIV vaccine.

They are trying to raise a lot of money – 25 million.

The link to this project was sent to emails about two weeks ago. The first reaction after visiting the site I had was "people are being cheated." Because on the very first page they promise, if successful, to start distributing the vaccine in 2016. Things don't get done at this rate, no matter how much money you have. Then I read it more carefully, and the rest of the site turned out to be quite sane, and the scientific foundation of the idea is quite even there. And the terms-the prices are more or less realistic. But still the sediment remained. They inflate the probability of success too much.

And now they are being criticized quite harshly in Nature (Crowd-funded HIV vaccine project sparks debate). Basically, it is for the fact that everything is presented too rosy: "We will do experiments, we will test on people, we will start producing." Although in fact, at each of these steps, the vaccine may fail. And the price tag of 25 million is only for the trial of the first stage, in which safety is tested almost exclusively (still an immune response, but certainly not the effectiveness of preventing infection). For the second or third stage, another 100 million will be needed. It's clear why they didn't write all this. If you write honestly, it is unlikely that anyone will give money for such a risky venture.

And another interesting point is noted there. An ordinary person from the street is completely unable to assess how scientifically sound any project is. But the fact of crowdfunding itself indicates that it was not possible to get money for it through standard channels. And this hints that the proposed concept has not overcome the peer-review barrier. It is clear that there are more good ideas than money now, and quite normal projects often do not pass this barrier. But, again, the sediment remains.

In general, the idea of crowdfunding science seems to be good, but the first pancake (in our area) came out lumpy.

(Interestingly, both well-known scientists listed on this project have already asked for their names to be removed from there. It's hard to say exactly what happened. Either they were entered there without their knowledge, or they were afraid of such negative publicity.)

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru11.02.2014