U.S. Congress has clear opportunity to supercharge global health R&D, shows

The U.S. Congress and Biden-Harris administration have a clear opportunity to supercharge global health research and development (R&D) in the wake of a pandemic that has revealed both the sector’s chronic neglect and amazing potential, according to a detailed agency-by-agency action plan released today by the nonprofit Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC).

The same core capabilities instrumental to defeating COVID-19 can also defeat diseases that have plagued humanity for generations–such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and Ebola–while targeting emerging pathogens of pandemic potential. Developing vaccines in such record-breaking time is, in reality, the product of decades of R&D investments. With smart funding and policy decisions, this foundation can generate a new era of innovations that will protect the health of millions of Americans and billions of people around the world.”

Jamie Bay Nish, Director, Global Health Technologies Coalition

The report breaks down the individual and often less-appreciated engines of the U.S. global health R&D enterprise–including critical initiatives within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)–to identify specific actions across the government that can channel President Biden’s promise to lead with science and international cooperation, to realize the promise of R&D for global health.

It notes that such investments produce more than just health benefits. They also have a strong track record of creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the United States and tens of billions of dollars in economic benefits.

Meanwhile, the assessment reveals how the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is directly connected to work on other global health threats: the Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a similar approach as the company’s Ebola vaccine; the Moderna platform was previously being developed for candidates against other respiratory viruses and chikungunya; and the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine is based on technology from malaria vaccine research.

But the report warns that today, global health R&D hangs in the balance between “broad setback and inspiring possibility.” It notes how the demands of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the enormous value of investing in global heath innovations, while at the same time it has diverted resources and personnel from the battle against many other threats.

GHTC’s prescription for rejuvenating global health R&D includes:

• Doubling support for global health programs at USAID and setting minimum funding targets for R&D within these increases, establishing a new position–chief science and product development officer–within the agency, and funding a new $200 million USAID Grand Challenge for global health security. The report notes that USAID is the “only U.S. agency with a mandate to focus on global health and development.” Yet despite USAID’s strong track record in delivering high-impact health innovations and an extensive network of partnerships, GHTC found that the agency’s unique capabilities have been underutilized and underfunded as part of the U.S. government’s COVID-19 response.

   

• Increasing…