G-FINDER: Global Funding of Innovation for Neglected Diseases
The Health Policy Division launched the G-FINDER survey online on 15 July 2008. The survey will track global investment into research and development (R&D) of new medicines and vaccines for neglected diseases.
The G-FINDER survey will collect important data on all aspects of developing new medicines and vaccines for neglected diseases, from basic research, through discovery and development, to the post-registration activities needed to support large-scale use. Both small and large funders of product development in neglected disease will contribute to the survey to create a clear picture of how and where R&D funds are spent globally.
A wide range of neglected diseases are covered by the survey, ranging from diseases like malaria, sleeping sickness and TB, to developing-country strains of global diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis and HIV/AIDS.
The survey also covers a broad range of neglected disease products, from new drugs, diagnostics, vaccines and microbicides, to insecticides and other pharmaceuticals.
Previous neglected disease surveys have not been funded to deliver the broad scope and depth of detail of the G-FINDER survey. The survey is also not a one-off; it is funded to be repeated each year until 2012 and ideally beyond. Taken together, these features will allow the G-FINDER survey to provide invaluable evidence to policy-makers and funders to inform and support the major decisions being made in global health funding now and into the future.
The survey is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pleased to support the world's first coordinated system to track R&D funding for neglected diseases globally. The results from the G-FINDER project will prove especially valuable to funding agencies, who seek to support research in the areas of greatest need, and to scientific researchers, advocates, and the media, who track funding trends over time."
- Hannah Kettler, Program Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation