A report released today on global funding of research and development for neglected diseases found that global funding has increased but warns that overreliance on funding from the United States, which the report says is “unparalleled,” and leads to a heavy concentration of global funding on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. This overreliance could also lead to change in total global funding, the report found.

The “G-FINDER” 2017 [pdf] is the tenth edition of the report. It covers 33 neglected diseases and all relevant product types, including drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics. It found that US$3.2 billion was invested in neglected disease research and development (R&D) in 2016, the first increase since 2012, driven by increased investment from the US government.

The philanthropic sector and the pharmaceutical industry also increased their investment, so did the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and a number of non-European governments, the report found.

However, according to the report, an overreliance on US government funding “is defining the shape of R&D for neglected diseases.” Changes in total global investment are closely aligned with changes in US government funding, so that ” every increase or decrease in US government investment in neglected disease R&D over the last decade has been accompanied by a corresponding change in total global funding,”

The US funding concentrates on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and on basic and early stage research, according to the report, which added that the growth of non-traditional funders is promising but still just a fraction of overall global funding. “And while Gates Foundation investment in product development has consistently been relied on to balance the public sector focus on basic research … this is again a reflection of overreliance on a single funder.”

“The world can ill afford to keep relying on the US government and the Gates Foundation to provide two-thirds of all global funding for neglected disease R&D over the next ten years, as they have done for the last decade,” the report said.

According to a press release, in 2016, “the US government was the source of 47% of all global funding for neglected disease R&D, and 73% of all public sector funding. This means that the US government not only drives changes in global funding levels, but also that it heavily influences the focus of this investment.”

As in previous years, the report says, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis collectively received more than two-thirds of all global funding for neglected disease R&D in 2016.

Increased Funding Public Sector, Industry, Philanthropy

The report also notes that the public sector, the philanthropic sector, and industry all increased their funding in 2016.

The public sector remained the most significant source of funding in 2016, contributing just under two-thirds of the global total, said the report. The top three public funders in 2016 were the United States, United Kingdom, and European Commission.

According to the press release, investment from low- and middle-income country governments continued to increase, in particular from India, Brazil and South Africa. India became the fourth largest government funder of neglected diseases R&D globally in 2016, passing France and Germany.

The top three philanthropic funders are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctor Without Borders).

SMEs invested US$106m in neglected disease R&D in 2016. This was the highest reported investment by SMEs in the history of the G-FINDER survey, the report said and accounted for the largest share (21%) of total industry investment in neglected disease R&D that this sector has contributed since 2008.

Over two-thirds of all SME investment in neglected disease R&D in 2016 came from firms in innovative developing countries, the report found, and said that firms from India and the US have contributed more than two-thirds of all SME investment in neglected diseases since 2007.

Industry also provided in-kind contributions, such as technology transfer and technical expertise, and intellectual property (sharing compound libraries with the World Health Organization or with researchers, providing public and non-for-profit groups with information on proprietary compounds they are seeking to develop for a neglected disease indication). Companies which provided in-kind contribution include GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Johnson & Johnson.

The “G-FINDER” focuses on global funding of R&D for neglected diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and sleeping sickness. It aims at helping policymakers, funders and product developers better understand the global landscape for neglected disease R&D, according to a press release.

The G-FINDER is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.