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Relative and absolute addressability of global disease burden in maternal and perinatal health by investment in R&D
Author(s) -
Fisk Nicholas M.,
McKee Martin,
Atun Rifat
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2011.02778.x
Subject(s) - millennium development goals , disease burden , public health , medicine , global health , investment (military) , developing country , disease , economic growth , public sector , business , health care , environmental health , population , economics , political science , nursing , politics , law , economy , pathology
Summary Maternal and perinatal disease accounts for nearly 10% of the global burden of disease, with only modest progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Despite a favourable new global health landscape in research and development (R&D) to produce new drugs for neglected diseases, R&D investment in maternal/perinatal health remains small and non‐strategic. Investment in obstetric R&D by industry or the not‐for‐profit sector has lagged behind other specialties, with the number of registered pipeline drugs only 1–5% that for other major disease areas. Using a Delphi exercise with maternal/perinatal experts in global and translational research, we estimate that equitable pharmaceutical R&D and public sector research funding over the next 10–20 years could avert 1.1% and 1.9% of the global disease burden, respectively. In contrast, optimal uptake of existing research would prevent 3.0%, justifying the current focus on health service provision. Although R&D predominantly occurs in high‐income countries, more than 98% of the estimated reduction in disease burden in this field would be in developing countries. We conclude that better pharmaceutical and public sector R&D would prevent around 1/3 and 2/3, respectively, of the disease burden addressable by optimal uptake of existing research. Strengthening R&D may be an important complementary strategy to health service provision to address global maternal and perinatal disease burden.