Databases on inputs to health R&D

Inputs into R&D refers to the resources needed to undertake R&D. Examples include funding and human resources. The following sections provide information on databases and information sources covering 3 different areas.

Funding flows for health R&D by disease

Covid-19

  • Policy Cures Research: COVID-19 R&D tracker
    Policy Cures Research tracks global funding commitments for COVID-19 R&D since 1 January 2020. It covers public, philanthropic & industry funding commitments. The data is available in an interactive dashboard and allows exploring data by funder, product developer and/or product. The link also contains a dashboard tracking COVID-19 products in the pipeline since January 2020.
  • Universities Allied for Essential Medicines: COVID Mapping
    The Universities Allied for Essential Medicines has developed a tracking tool that aims to map public investment in International COVID-19 R&D. Data on investments in COVID-19 medicines, vaccines and diagnostics are summarized in an interactive dashboard. It can also be downloaded in various formats.
  • OECD Global Science Forum (GSF): Research funding initiative
    The GSF has initiated a series of activities related to research funding with the aim to increase research funding mechanism efficiency and adapt funding strategies to different objectives. One of these activities is gathering and updating information on Covid-19 research funding schemes (country of origin, agency/organization in charge, topic/targeted area of research, status of the project, level of funding, link to the scheme…). This information is currently available as an Excel table downloadable through this link.

    Multi-disease Investment Tracking

    • Policy Cures Research: G-FINDER survey
      Since 2008, Policy Cures had tracked and reported on annual global investments into product-related R&D for neglected diseases, for which the following three conditions apply: they disproportionately affect people in developing countries; there is a need for new products; and there is market failure in developing new products. 

      (Note: The not-for-profit research group Policy Cures Research, established in 2016 by the research and policy team at Policy Cures, now carries out the survey.)

      Data from the G-FINDER survey covers all product-related R&D, including basic research, discovery stage research, preclinical development, clinical development, phase IV trials and pharmacovigilance studies, and baseline epidemiological studies. It excludes investments in other types of research such as implementation or health systems research and capacity building.

      Since 2014 – in response to the West African Ebola Epidemic- Policy Cure Research began gathering data on R&D investment targeting emerging infectious diseases (EID). R&D for almost all product development (drugs, vaccines, biologics and diagnostics) is included. R&D for vector control is included where relevant.

      In 2019, R&D investment on Sexual and Reproductive Health began, after a one-time report in 2014.  

      An overview of the diseases and product areas included in G-FINDER’s scope, including the areas that have specific scope restrictions, can be found in these documents: 
      The G-FINDER project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
    • Treatment Action Group (TAG)
      The Treatment Action Group (TAG) is an independent AIDS research and policy think tank which, in 2002, expanded its research advocacy efforts to raise awareness of the burden that tuberculosis (TB) was having on people living with HIV in developing countries.  

      A link to a set of annual reports measuring funding levels for TB R&D since 2006 against the targets presented in the Stop TB Partnership can be found here.
    • The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund
      GHIT is a public-private partnership fund for global health R&D investing in nonprofit product development for HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The funding partners are the Government of Japan; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the Wellcome Trust and global sciences companies. The website offers an investment portfolio for drugs, vaccines and diagnostics production projects funded by GHIT since 2013. The interactive database of investments can be filtered by development stage, disease, intervention, RFP year and status, and details of each investment, including partners and amount awarded, can be viewed.