This issue of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology includes the papers from the seventh Annual San Diego Health Policy Conference, ‘Public–Private Partnerships in Global Health’, held on 25 March 2011. The San Diego Heath Policy Conference is sponsored by the Institute of Health Law Studies California Western School of Law, in collaboration with the San Diego Center for Patient Safety, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Partnership for Safe Medicines. The event drew both national and international participants with industry representatives, health-care providers, public health officials, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, military representatives, academics and policy experts coming together to assess the role and potential of private–public partnerships in global health activities.