The fourth Global Funding of Innovation for Neglected Diseases (G-FINDER) survey found that year-on-year funding for neglected disease R&D decreased by 3.5 per cent (US$109 million) from 2009 to 2010 — the first overall decrease since the survey began in 2007. The survey was prepared by Policy Cures through a project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The decrease resulted from lower contributions by the public sector, which still provided almost two-thirds of global funding in 2010, as well as by the philanthropic sector.
Research into diseases that rely on investment from public and philanthropic sectors — such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and diarrhoeal diseases — were hit the hardest, with funding for HIV/AIDS research decreasing by five per cent.
In contrast, diseases with substantial funding from industry, including tuberculosis and dengue, were largely protected.
