The US-based Institute for OneWorld Health said that the network of corporate and industry pharmaceutical scientists would work on developing new drugs and vaccines for diseases that are rare in the developed world, and so unattractive commercially for the pharmaceutical industry to tackle.
High on the list is malaria, which causes or contributes to 3 million deaths and up to 500 million acute clinical cases each year, but other targets will include leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.
Today, around 12 million cases of leishmaniasis exist worldwide with an estimated number of 1.5 -2 million new cases occurring annually. Chagas disease affects 16 - 18 million people, according to the World Health Organisation.
OneWorld Health said the programme has been made possible because of a grant from the Sapling Foundation, a US charitable organisation.
Victoria Hale, the founder and chief executive of the company, commented that the concept for the volunteer scientist network arose after she was contacted by hundreds of pharmaceutical scientists globally offering their services.
OneWorld Health has already developed a promising pipeline headed by paramomycin, a drug to treat visceral leishmaniasis that is in Phase III testing and could be available as early as next year.
A medicine for adult diarrhoeal disease is in Phase II testing, while OneWorld Health also has preclinical programmes in Chagas' disease and malaria.
Hale explained that scientists' voluntary services are analogous to what the law profession has long provided in the way of pro bono services to individuals and groups in need.
"The contribution of pharmaceutical scientists' time and energy is fundamental to our non-profit business model. A formal structure would leverage this enthusiasm and support," she said.
OneWorld Health currently has a roster of 15 scientists and a cadre of part-time and volunteer pharmaceutical scientists offering their expertise and support services. Many of them concurrently hold positions at pharmaceutical companies, in academia, and government, or are consultants to industry.
The company said it plans to appoint a director to lead development and implementation of the volunteer scientists' network in the coming months. The as-yet unnamed network is projected to launch later this year.