By CHRISTABEL LIGAMI, Special Correspondent
Malaria research and development will require at least $8.3 billion over the next decade to scale up the fight against the disease.
Over two decades, there has been a fivefold increase in annual funding for malaria research and development — from $131 million in 1993 to $610 million in 2011.
Much of the increase took place after 2004 when support stood at $320 million, a new analysis of funding trends in the global battle against malaria shows.
The report, a collaboration between the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Medicines for Malaria Venture, Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative and Innovative Vector Control Consortium, noted that at least $700 million is needed annually to develop necessary tools to combat the disease.
Malaria still kills about 660,000 people, most of them in Africa each year. In East Africa, malaria claims 300,000 lives annually. The study warns that research and development investments are critical, given the emerging trend of drug resistance and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.
“It is crucial to sustain the momentum created by an R&D pipeline that has never been healthier, with nearly 90 products in development,” noted the report.
Among the interventions that have gone into widespread use over the past two decades are long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets, artemisinin-based combination drug therapies for adults and children and rapid diagnostic tools.
Using these and other tools, malaria control efforts helped avert 274 million cases of malaria and 1.1 million deaths between 2000 and 2010.
“The fruits of past investments in science and innovation have helped to turn the tide on an epidemic that has stolen the lives of millions,” said Ashley Birkett, director of the Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative.
“But the only way to see its eventual eradication is to continue making strategic investments in research and development over the long-term,” added Mr Birkett.
The report, From Pipeline to Product: Malaria R&D funding needs into the next decade, offers an update to a 2011 report, Staying the Course? Malaria research and development in a time of economic uncertainty, and is intended as a resource for policymakers to inform investment decisions regarding new tools to control malaria.
According to the report, about two-thirds of the projected funding needs for malaria R&D would be for new tools to support eradication, such as drugs that can completely eliminate parasites from infected patients.
