Harnessing capitalism for good
Fifteen years ago, Inder Singh was part of a small group that brokered deals between 70 countries and 22 pharmaceutical companies. Prices fell 30–90%. The results are well known. The how is not.
Latest episode
Over the course of the season, we’ve spoken with a number of guests who led CHAI’s work to reduce prices and shape markets for drugs, diagnostics, and other essential health products. They’ve given us a behind-the-scenes look at how CHAI approached this work—and how that approach evolved over two decades.
In this episode, host Inder Singh brings those lessons together and breaks down the CHAI playbook. He walks through the approach CHAI used to dramatically lower the price of lifesaving medicines, from shuttle diplomacy to volume guarantees. Along the way, he digs into what really made the approach work, how it evolved over time, and why some of its earliest lessons may be especially relevant today.
The playbook
Market shaping isn’t a fixed formula, and no four steps cover all of it. But these moves come up again and again across the season — here’s where each one gets unpacked.
Aggregate fragmented demand until scattered buyers can speak to suppliers with one voice.
Mini Episode #1 →Tell suppliers, credibly, that the volume is real and that it is actually coming.
Mini Episode #2 →Volume guarantees, cost-plus terms — the instruments that move risk to whoever can carry it.
Episode 9 →The high-price, low-volume trap breaks — and lower prices start to become self-fulfilling.
Episode 4 →What listeners say
With all the challenges we are facing today, from inequality to climate change to pandemics to AI, learning how to successfully create markets for “social good” is critical. This podcast is a great educational tool for anyone looking to make a difference on a large scale. I particularly like the lessons learned and the way the host interviews those who have successfully done it
Inder has started an important conversation with this podcast, sharing real examples of how the private sector “markets” can be harnessed to have social impact. Capitalism is neither the panacea nor the culprit to health inequity, climate change, housing instability, food insecurity, systemic discrimination and other social issues. But it is the system that governs value transactions in the world today and working with it is our best chance at making humanity better. This podcast shows you how.
More conversations
Hema Srinivasan, formerly the Chief Access Officer of MedAccess, a leader of CHAI’s market shaping work, and a former country director for a major pharma company, joins host Inder Singh to discuss how market shaping in g…
Aaron Patillo was a key member of the Clinton Health Access Initiative's (CHAI) original drug access team. Based in Beijing, he brokered deals with pharmaceutical companies that helped slash the price of HIV/AIDS medicin…
When it comes to market shaping, having a wide range of tools in your kit is critical. “You don’t want to be a hammer looking for a nail,” says today’s guest Oliver Sabot. Sabot has spent years shaping markets in various…
The host
Inder Singh is a founder, CEO, and a pioneer of the practice of market shaping. On this show he sits down with the leaders, innovators, and behind-the-scenes dealmakers who changed how markets work — often in ways most people never see.
If you’re a capitalist, I’ll challenge the idea that markets left alone reliably produce optimal outcomes.Inder Singh — Market Shaping 101More about the show