Global Health Progress

Report on 2008 Global R&D Funding for Neglected Diseases

The George Institute for International Health recently released its second G-FINDER report
titled, “Neglected Disease Research and Development: New Times, New Trends,” which
provides 2008 data on global investment into research and development (R&D) of new products
for neglected diseases. It covers:

• 198 funders (a 67% increase from 2007) in 44 countries, which were surveyed on their 2008 R&D investments related to 31 neglected diseases.i
• 134 product areas for these diseases, including drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, microbicides, and vector control products (an increase from 127 in 2007). ii
• Platform technologies (e.g., adjuvants, delivery technologies, diagnostic platforms).
• All types of product-related R&D specifically targeted at developing country R&D needs, including basic research, discovery and preclinical, clinical development, Phase IV and pharmacovigilance studies, and baseline epidemiological studies.iii iv

Diseases covered by the report include (1) classical Type III neglected diseases, defined as
diseases that are “overwhelmingly or exclusively incident in the developing countries,” and (2)
Type II diseases in developing countries that are “incident in both rich and poor countries, but
with a global need or addressed to the specific disease conditions of poor countries.”v vi The
primary disease categories include: HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis (TB); kinetoplastids;
diarrhoeal diseases; dengue; helminthes; bacterial pneumonia and meningitis; salmonella
infections;vii leprosy; buruli ulcer; and trachoma.

The 2008 report, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, includes data from new
participants and new countries, including India and more small to medium size
biopharmaceutical companies. Entities surveyed include: public, private and philanthropic
funders in high and middle income countries that are part of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), EU member states and the European Commission,
select high and middle income countries outside of the OECD with a significant research base
(i.e., Singapore, Israel, and the Russian Federation), and public funders in three innovative
developing countries (i.e., Brazil, India, and South Africa).viii

Click here to download a complete sumamry of the report.

Click here to download the full report.