New study finds rise in global malaria R&D funds leads to largest ever pipeline

A new analysis of progress in the global fight against malaria has found a four-fold increase in annual funding for malaria research and development (R&D) in just 16 years – increasing from US$121 million in 1993 to US$612 million in 2009, with a particularly rapid increase since 2004. The funding has generated the strongest pipeline of malaria control and prevention products in history. The report warns, however, that even a small decline in annual funding could jeopardize this pipeline, derail development of needed products, and paradoxically also increase development costs later. The report’s authors assessed progress to date against the R&D funding goals in the 2008 Global Malaria Action Plan and what will be needed in the coming decade to deliver the suite of products needed to manage, eliminate and – ultimately – eradicate malaria from the world. The answer is sustained, relatively modest increases that will boost total annual funding...