Health R&D financing remains inadequate -- R4D offers an evaluation of the most promising new ideas and a framework for evaluating them in the July/August 2009 Health Affairs issue.

Financing for new life-saving drugs, vaccines and diagnostics is needed in the developing world. These interventions could save millions of lives and prevent enormous suffering and economic loss. Despite the substantial new funding from the Gates Foundation and other donors, financing for the development of these new health technologies remains uncertain and inadequate. New approaches are needed to generate more resources, make funding more stable and flexible, and further engage the expertise of the pharmaceutical industry. Several new financing mechanisms have been launched recently, and others are being proposed.

The latest issue of Health Affairs (July/August 2009) features an article by Robert Hecht, Paul Wilson, and Amrita Palriwala, that reviews the full range of existing and currently debated mechanisms for financing health R&D for the diseases of the developing world. Please follow this link to access the article on the Health Affairs website: Improving Health R&D Financing For Developing Countries: A Menu Of Innovative Policy Options.