@article{744a385981f041d4b79c39358b526da1,
title = "Authors' response",
author = "Finette, {Barry A.} and Megan McLaughlin and Scarpino, {Samuel V.} and John Canning and Michelle Grunauer and Enrique Teran and Marisol Bahamonde and Edy Quizhpe and Rashed Shah and Eric Swedberg and {Asadur Rahman}, Kazi and Hosenera Khondker and Ituki Chakma and Denis Muhoza and Awa Seck and Assiatta Kabore and Salvator Nibitanga and Barry Heath",
note = "Funding Information: Concern was also expressed by Ansermino et al. about “potential personal bias and commercial interest” influencing the technology development and validation. We agree these are important points to consider. THINKMD is a U.S.-based benefit corporation which by definition is required to develop innovative health technology that has societal impact.5 In addition, the legal structure of a U.S.-based benefit corporation does not require its officers to make decisions that maximize profits at the expense of developing validated high-quality technology and promoting impact.5 We agree that, unfortunately, there are historical and current examples of biased and monetary priorities influencing health technology, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies. However, these issues should be limited for U.S. benefit corporations. With respect to our work, it is important to note that significant financial support for the validation studies was provided by funds from the Ministries of Health of Ecuador and Burkina Faso, University of San Francisco-Quito medical school, United Nations Children{\textquoteright}s Fund (UNICEF), and Save the Children regional/local programs. The central goal of this THINKMD collaboration, which includes senior academic physicians and scientists, international aid agency physicians, and senior public health professionals from UNICEF and Save the Children, was to produce a high-quality validated product and perform transparent validation studies. We believe Ansermino{\textquoteright}s concerns regarding “bias and monetary commercial interests” for this research consortium are misplaced.",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.4269/ajtmh.19-0411b",
language = "Ingl{\'e}s",
volume = "101",
pages = "949--950",
journal = "American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene",
issn = "0002-9637",
number = "4",
}
