Role of the Stop TB Research Movement regarding global funding of TB research

The recent assessment by the Treatment Action Group indicates that TB research globally remains severely under-funded, despite a significant boost in funding in the past few years for research and development for new tools. Besides the funding gaps related to the three main R&D areas defined in the Global Plan to Stop TB, 2006-2015 (new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines), the "downstream" operational research for assessment of innovations within existing health systems and the "upstream" basic research that underpins new product development are under-funded. For each of the new tools (diagnostics, drugs and vaccines) the development pathway has a high attrition rate. The chances of a successful product emerging from the end of the development pipeline depend at least in part on the number of potential products entering the pipeline. Increased investment is necessary not only in product research and development but also in basic research to "keep the pipeline stocked".

In persuading key donors to increase TB research funding, the following steps will be helpful: a) developing and articulating the arguments for increased funding for TB research and development; b) assessing current funding levels and trends; c) estimating the research funding gap and describing the expected benefits of increased investment in research; d) coordinating plans for how Partners and the Partnership can advance these efforts to engage and persuade research funders to increase TB research funding and stimulate new approaches.

Collaboration between the Research Movement and the Inter-Governmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual property (IGWG) provides an opportunity for the Research Movement to contribute to the development of innovative financing mechanisms for research and development.

Resources for information on the funding of TB and health care research:

Treatment Action Group report on funding of TB research

An assessment of trends in TB research funding has been published in Nature Medicine on 6 March 2007. Changing funding patterns in tuberculosis

Monitoring Financial Flows for Health Research 2006: the changing landscape of health research for development
The Global Forum for Health Research regularly tracks the world's resources for health research and examines the information gathered in relation to the health challenges faced by developing countries. The 2006 report surveys the changing scene of global financing for health research and provides new estimates of the resources available and the patterns of ill-health for 2003, as well as projections of these patterns in 2030.