Global Observatory on Health R&D
For interactive landscape analyses visit the Global Observatory for Health R&D
Horizon scanning and landscape assessment
WHO/ Muhd Ikmal
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Credits
What is a horizon scan or landscape analysis?
A horizon scan or landscape analysis related to health products aims to identify and characterize all the products that exist or are being developed in a specific topic area. The topic may be focused or broad, investigating the area by product class or by stage of development – such as all vaccines against malaria in phase III clinical trials, or all antimicrobial therapeutics in preclinical and clinical development, or all rapid diagnostic test (RDT) readers with regulatory approvals in at least one country. There is no set definition but generally a horizon scan may look to what is in early stages of development or what is likely to be developed in the future, while a landscape analysis may focus on the current status of development. Landscape analysis will be used here to indicate both future or current status of development.
Various sources and tracking processes can be used to monitor developments. These include clinical trial registries, proprietary databases, company/ university websites and industry-specific third-party sources. WHO have produced a document as a starting guide for WHO technical teams intending to perform a landscape analysis.
Benefits of WHO producing a landscape analysis
A WHO landscape analysis may be used for several purposes
- Preparation for research prioritization or policy review
- Driving research directions by indicating gaps and forming the basis for research agenda setting, target product profiles or evidence generation
- Comparing products available to the ability to meet public health needs
- Advocacy by communicating the state of the pipeline
- Measuring progress to track developments towards public health needs over time
There are many types of landscape analyses as it depends on the scope and the purpose. They may be called horizon scanning exercises, research landscaping or market analysis. They may be disseminated widely, such as the annual AMR antibacterial R&D landscape analysis, or they may be used for internal use only or as supportive documents for another process, such as research prioritization.
The most important first step is to understand the purpose and question which will inform the scope. From there the method can be developed with appropriate stakeholder engagement, if necessary. The data should be collected from a wide range of sources and analysis and visualization used to evaluate the data to answer the initial question. The findings should be disseminated based on the initial purpose, with consideration given to which stakeholders and in what format the analysis should be shared. See the publication for more insights and examples.
Content and structure of a WHO landscape analysis
A landscape analysis document can be very different depending on the scope and purpose, however it should contain the following:
- Introduction: Contextualize the analysis, highlighting its purpose and relevance, and what is already known.
- Define the question: Clearly define the question to be addressed, including disease outcomes or risk factors, desired change, and the time frame to be covered.
- Methodology: Describe the approach. Be transparent on the methodology chosen and why. Indicate where the data was sourced from and how, including dates data accessed, websites or individuals consulted.
- Analysis: Analyze and visualize the results to answer the initial question.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: Explain if and how progress will be assessed, and what would trigger a reevaluation of the landscape.
29 August 2023
Performing a landscape analysis: understanding health product research and development
a quick guide
Further information
Data for many landscape analyses are accessible in the Monitoring section of the Global Observatory on Health R&D. Here the data can be interactively analyzed and downloaded.
Publications
14 June 2024
2023 Antibacterial agents in clinical and preclinical development: an overview and analysis
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) “2023 Antibacterial agents in clinical and preclinical development: an overview and analysis” report...
19 February 2024
The advanced HIV disease research landscape
Advanced HIV disease (defined in persons living with HIV with a CD4 cell count of <200cells/mm3 or presenting with a WHO Stage 3/4 AIDS-defining illness)...
This report provides an overview of the funding and R&D landscape in childhood cancer. The report, based on data from the WHO Global Observatory on...
This document highlights the diagnostics available now to support scale-up and expanded access to screening to meet the growing testing demands in low-...
22 March 2012
Global vaccine safety blueprint - landscape analysis
Very few public-health interventions have been as successful as immunizations in preventing untimely deaths. Over the past thirty-five years, vaccines...