TB R&D Funding: Billions Short and Reliant on a Few Major Donors, New Report Finds
13 December 2024
Contact: Natalie Shure, Treatment Action Group (natalie.shure@treatmentactiongroup.org)
Malene Arboe-Rasmussen, Media and Communications Officer, Stop TB Partnership (malenea@stoptb.org)
New York, December 13, 2024 — A new report released today by Treatment Action Group (TAG) and Stop TB Partnership found that cumulative funding for tuberculosis (TB) research and development (R&D) in 2023 reached only 24% of the annual $5 billion funding target agreed by countries at the United Nations High-Level Meeting (HLM) on TB in September 2023. Significant acceleration of investment — bolstered by broader democratic support from more diversified sources of funding — is necessary to develop and scale up the tools necessary to end TB as a public health crisis by 2030.
TB remains the world’s top infectious disease killer, with 1.25 million people dying in 2023 and 10.8 million getting sick. It is preventable and curable, but eliminating it globally will require better vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. Chronic underfunding remains a major barrier to delivering on the promise of innovations currently in the research pipeline.
“While $1.2 billion in funding for TB research this year is a step in the right direction, let’s be clear: this is a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed,” said Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership. “The increased support for TB vaccines is promising, but we must elevate our ambitions. It’s time for a collective push to meet our commitments and save lives.”
Tuberculosis Research Funding Trends 2005—2023, the 19th annual installment of our series assessing the global state of TB R&D, is based on a survey of biomedical research funders conducted by TAG with support from Stop TB Partnership. Key findings from the report include:
* Global funding for TB R&D was US$1.2 billion in 2023, up from US$1.03 billion in 2022 but less than one-quarter of the $5 billion annual target agreed upon by countries at the UN High-Level Meeting (HLM) on TB in 2023.
* Only two countries — India and South Africa — achieved their “fair share” spending targets for 2023, defined as investing at least 0.15% of overall R&D expenditures in TB.
* TB vaccine research funding went up by 58% from 2022 to 2023, from US$144 million to US$227 million, but still amounted to only 18% of the 2023 UN HLM targets. This is especially concerning because no broadly effective TB vaccine currently exists, and the world cannot end the TB pandemic without one.
* Funding for basic TB science declined from US$170 million in 2022 to US$158 million in 2023; drugs and diagnostics received US$425 million and US$167 million, respectively.
* The public sector accounted for 62% of total TB R&D funding. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) was the top individual investor, contributing 34% of total funds.
* Philanthropies made up 24% of TB R&D spending, putting up 47% more in 2023 than in 2022 — an increase driven mostly by the Gates Foundation accompanied by significant investments from Wellcome and Open Philanthropy.
Clearly, broader support will be key to unlocking more funding: 86% of TB R&D funding remains concentrated among the 20 largest donors, leaving vital projects concerningly vulnerable to political tinkering and funders’ shifting priorities. With over half of all TB vaccine research funding coming from a few large philanthropic organizations, for example, protecting these investments means diversifying them. History gives us one key example of how community support was leveraged in the fight against TB: beginning in 1907, the sale of now iconic “Christmas seals” not only raised millions for what became the National Lung Association, but helped build awareness and commitment to the fight against TB.\
“Every one of us has a stake in ending TB,” said TAG TB Project Co-Director Mike Frick. “We cannot accept a new Gilded Age of TB funding in which major donations by a few philanthropies go unmatched by equal or greater investment from governments, which bear the primary responsibility for fulfilling people’s human right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress. It’s time to bring a collective, democratic spirit back to TB R&D funding.”
Source: Treatment Action Group
SEE ALSO:
- STAT: Tuberculosis R&D funding is up, but still short of goals and dominated by a few players, report finds (paid subscription is required)
- Spotlight: Analysis: South Africa one of only two countries to meet TB research spending target in 2023
