Friday, March 12, 2010

ICMR emerges as major funder of neglected diseases in India

India rated among the top 5 government funders-



India is now the fifth largest public funder of neglected disease R&D globally with an investment of $32.5m in 2008, and 60% of which was contributed by the ICMR. This has been reported in the second Global Funding of Innovation for Neglected Diseases (G-FINDER) survey analyses and reports on 2008 global investment into research and development (R&D) of new products for neglected diseases released on 15 December 2009.

The survey covers 31 neglected diseases, and collected data from 198 funders in 44 countries. The results show that nearly US$3billion (US$2.96 bn) was spent on making new products for neglected diseases in 2008. A key finding of the G-FINDER survey was that, for some diseases, traditional donor funding is being replaced by investments from pharmaceutical companies and Innovative Developing Countries (IDCs) such as Brazil , India and South Africa . This trend reflects the growing research strength and pharmaceutical markets of India and Brazil , in particular, as well as high local incidence of diseases such as leprosy and dengue.

The driving force behind the Indian investments is a handful of central government funding agencies: the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the India Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

ICMR was the largest Indian funder, providing a total of $19.5m, or 60.1% of total Indian funding. Another $5.1m (15.6%) was invested by DBT, while DST and CSIR contributed $4.0m (12.3%) and $3.8m (11.7%) respectively. Indian public funders like the ICMR and the CSIR often serve as apex bodies, under which several research institutes or laboratories dedicated to one or more neglected diseases are attached; or as pure funding agencies, like the DBT and the DST, where monies are granted directly to external researchers and product developers.

Indian companies received $4.9m or 15.1% of total public funding in India .

The distribution of Indian funding across diseases reflects a strong emphasis on those endemic to the region. Overall, the diseases receiving the most funding were malaria ($12.5m, 38.5%), diarrhoeal diseases ($4.2m, 12.9%), tuberculosis ($4.0m, 12.4%), leishmaniasis ($3.1m, 9.6%) and leprosy ($2.7m, 8.3%). India contributed 30.6% of global leprosy funding, reflecting remaining pockets of high local endemicity.



Figure: India R&D funding by disease in 2008



The G-FINDER report shows that in 2008 Innovative Developing Countries (IDC`s) like India, Brazil and South Africa and pharmaceutical companies funded:



·Nearly 60% of R&D for pneumonia and meningitis

·More than half (51%) of leprosy R&D ( Brazil and India have the largest number of new leprosy cases per year in the world)

·Nearly half (46%) of R&D for new dengue products (the Americas , particularly Brazil , along with Asia , have the highest global prevalence of dengue)

·Around 20% of funding for new treatments and vaccines for diarrhoeal illnesses, TB and malaria (which occur worldwide)



The G-FINDER survey found that two organisations provided nearly 60% of global funding in this area in 2008: the US National Institutes of Health ($1.1bn, 36.5%) and the Gates Foundation ($617m, 20.9%). The US was by far the largest government funder, providing more than two-thirds of global public funding ($1.3bn, 67.2%), followed in distant second place by the European Commission ($129.9m, 6.9%). The UK was third ($103.3m, 5.5%), followed by Brazil ($36.8m, 2%) and India ($32.5m, 1.7%).

Three diseases captured the lion's share of funding, together accounting for nearly three-quarters (72.8%) of global investment: HIV/AIDS ($1,164.9m, 39.4%), malaria ($541.7m, 18.3%) and tuberculosis ($445.9m, 15.1%). Leprosy, rheumatic fever, trachoma and Buruli ulcer received less than $10m each (<0.4% of global funding). The kinetoplastid diseases (like Chagas, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness) received just 4.7% of global funding ($139.2m); the diarrhoeal illnesses only 4.5% ($132.2m); and helminth infections (parasitic worms and flukes like hook worm, tape worm and lymphatic filariasis) received 2.3% ($66.8m).



The survey was conducted by the George Institute for International Health, Sydney , Australia through a funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.



The G-FINDER full report can be found at : www.thegeorgeinstitute.org


News From: http://www.Time2timeNews.com

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