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In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. As the world’s worst outbreak of Ebola continues to kill thousands of people in West Africa, pharmaceutical companies are beginning to focus their efforts of developing an effective vaccine that could prevent future outbreaks. Recently, both GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson have announced plans to begin conducting human clinical trials for a vaccine. In a recent blog post in Breakthroughs, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung writes about the urgent need to improve the global health situation, and how they continue to advocate for health improvements in low- and middle-income countries. As part of this work, they have launched a series of policy briefs on the issue of global health research and development (R&D), outlining why we need to increase financial and political support (in Europe) for efforts aimed at creating new ways to tackle diseases such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. In a new article in PLOS, global health experts write on how the international community can fund global health R&D projects. After the World Health Assembly meeting last May, four demonstration projects were selected by Member States to apply new approaches to neglected disease research. Funding for these projects will come from a pooled international fund. A new paper takes a more detailed look into the pipeline for neglected diseases, finding 650 clinical studies for diseases primarily affecting populations in low- and middle-income countries. The study’s authors found that research centers and public organizations are the most important clinical trial sponsors (58.9 percent), followed by the pharmaceutical industry (24.1 percent), and foundations and nongovernmental organizations (9.3 percent). Thus far in 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the same amount of novel new medicines it did for the entire year in 2013. To date, the FDA has approved 27 novel new medicines—which includes biologics. If the agency continues at this rate, it may come close to matching the 39 novel new medicines approved in 2012.

In this post, Eoghan Walsh—communications officer at Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung (DSW)—writes about the need for Europe to increase financial and political support for efforts aimed at creating new ways to tackle diseases such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. This post originally appeared on the DSW blog on September 4. Support for global health is at the core of DSW’s advocacy work. One of the four focus areas for the organization is to have global health policies and financing include and support sexual and reproductive health and rights. We recognize at DSW the urgent need to improve the global health situation, and we continue to advocate for health improvements in low- and middle-income countries. As part of this work, we are launching a series of policy briefs on the issue of global health research and development (R&D), outlining why we need to increase financial and political support (in Europe) for efforts aimed at creating new ways to tackle diseases such as HIV and AIDS, TB, and malaria. Download the new infographic on European investment in poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases now!   R&D for PRNDs A crucial element of European investment in global health is support for the development and distribution of innovative new interventions to tackle head-on diseases that affect a huge number of people living in low- and middle-income countries. Poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases (PRNDs), such as HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria—as well as 17 other infectious diseases identified by the World Health Organization (WHO )—affect more than one billion people around the world, causing 6 million deaths annually. 90/10 gap Because these diseases affect people living in some of the world’s poorest countries, for many years there has been insufficient investment in R&D aimed at addressing and eradicating these diseases as the private sector has not seen a market interest in developing new medicines and treatments. It is estimated that, overall, only 10 percent of the world’s resources for health research are directed at diseases that affect the poorest 90 percent of the world’s population. Return on investment for Europe It is because of this “90/10” gap that we work for increased political and financial support to global health R&D, supporting the creation of modern, effective, affordable, and accessible medical interventions to bring an end to the suffering caused by PRNDs. As part of our new series of policy briefs on global health R&D, today we are launching an infographic—developed in collaboration with Policy Cures—outlining the value for the European Union (EU) in investing in global health R&D, and how funding for global health R&D can have positive economic and health benefits for Europe as well as the rest of the world, and have significant return on investment. Read on and support us as we advocate for an end to these terrible diseases! Did you know? PRNDs account for 361 million years of healthy and productive life lost globally There are no vaccines for HIV or malaria The EU invested €2.1 billion in PRNDs research between 2007-2012 Since 2000, 47 new products aimed at PRNDs have been registered, with over 350 more in the pipeline Infographics provided by DSW.