Vaccines, tests, and treatments for neglected diseases, such as dengue, will require innovative financing mechanisms to incentivize manufacturers to prioritize them and ensure they reach populations that need them, according to a new study.
Lifesaving medical interventions are a product of years to decades of research and development, which typically costs billions of dollars. But funding for neglected diseases R&D is often limited and uneven, with high-profile diseases getting more investments than others.
Not enough funding is allocated for the late-stage development of products, including for large-scale trials to evaluate a product’s efficacy and safety; licensing and World Health Organization prequalification, which is a requirement for the procurement of international procuring agencies; and commercialization, according to the landscape study of South and Southeast Asia by AVPN, Wellcome Trust, and Access Partnership.