Recent news

December 2011

Report tracking global health funding for neglected disease R&D released

Today, Policy Cures released the fourth annual G-FINDER report, which tracks the trends in the levels of global funding in 2010 to develop new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other tools for 31 neglected diseases. The report showed that funding for research and development (R&D) to address these diseases is on the decline, with overall support dropping by 3.5% among donors who were surveyed. This includes public donors in high- and low-income countries, private foundations, and the pharmaceutical industry.

The report also illustrates that the global financial crisis is impacting public funders’ ability to support global health R&D, jeopardizing progress for many critical lifesaving tools in the pipeline. Public funding from the richest nations dropped~~ing~~ by 6% over the course of 2010. This decline is significant, as the public sector provides nearly two-thirds of global funding for neglected disease R&D.

Every government but the United Kingdom cut funding for neglected disease R&D in 2010, including a slash of nearly $75 million by the US government. Although the United States remains the largest government funder of neglected disease R&D, this $75 million cut still translates to a 5% overall reduction in 2010. Because of these widespread funding drops, groups like product development partnerships are experiencing severe cuts that will impact their ability to complete work on some of the most advanced products in development to fight neglected diseases.

“Government and other public funding is evaporating at a time of tremendous opportunity,” said Mel Spigelman, President and CEO of GHTC member the TB Alliance. “We’re on the brink of delivering potentially revolutionary new treatments for tuberculosis, with similarly great promise in other areas of global health. Now is the time to invest in critical life-saving technologies; the cutbacks described in this report could be disastrous for global health.”

In a blog post about the report, GHTC Director Kaitlin Christenson said, “This decline in US government funding has real and significant consequences in the near- and long-term. Without sufficient funding, groups like product development partnerships, which are leading the development of global health products, are left without the immediate resources needed to complete the final phases of clinical research. And without the tools we need to combat the most severe global health challenges, people living around the world will continue to suffer and succumb to diseases that might have been otherwise prevented or treated. The scientific community is on the cusp of groundbreaking research that will yield powerful new tools to address global health, and now is not the time to turn back. An investment in science means an investment in the future, and policymakers in the US must keep their gaze forward as they make funding decisions today.”