New paper looks at the role of research and innovation for health in the post-2015 development agenda

The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) today released a new paper—co-authored with the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED), the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and PATH—which makes a case for why the research and development (R&D) of new and improved high-priority health technologies targeting the needs of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) should be a critical component of the post-2015 development agenda.

The paper—The Role of Research and Innovation in the Post-2015 Development Agenda—builds upon the findings of The Lancet Commission on Investing in Health and existing literature by:

• Highlighting the ways in which R&D for health has contributed significantly to progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
  
• Discussing the rationale for continuous prioritization of R&D for health in the post-2015 development agenda
  
• Providing preliminary suggestions for areas to consider as potential indicators of progress in global health R&D and innovation
  

While the paper details how past R&D investments have led to new health products which have driven significant progress toward achieving the health-related MDGs in the last decade, it also argues that current health technologies and levels of R&D investment are insufficient to overcome existing and emerging health threats and ultimately achieve the goals of the post-2015 agenda—poverty eradication and sustainable development.

As the global community organizes around these ambitious goals, the paper calls on key players to recognize the value of health improvements in ending poverty and the role that research and innovation for new health technologies plays in not only improving health outcomes, but also driving economic growth and progress in LMICs.

The paper notes the recommendations of The Lancet Commission on Investing in Health—which in its Global Health 2035 report—calls for a doubling of current R&D investments in health from all countries to bridge the health divide between the richest and the poorest in a generation. The Commission’s recommendation is based on data demonstrating that past investments in health innovation have driven not only significant progress in terms of increasing valuable life years in LMICs, but also in terms of economic growth.

While adequate financing for health innovation is critical to spur the development of new health tools, it alone does not guarantee the development of more products and the right type of products for those populations most in need. Therefore, the paper recommends that any indicators used to measure progress against targets described in the post-2015 agenda also measure R&D outputs, as well as the enabling environment for innovation—including infrastructure, capacity, enabling policies, and partnerships.

The paper concludes by noting that the post-2015 development agenda presents an opportunity for LMICs to set their own health and research priorities and to assert their leadership in strengthening the R&D landscape focused on the needs of the poorest and most marginalized populations. Finally, it calls for broad agreement among stakeholders that research and innovation for health—which includes both the scaling up of proven health interventions, as well as the development of new and improved technologies—is critical to meeting the ambitious goals of the post-2015 agenda.

In addition to releasing this paper to inform discussion and debate, COHRED, GHTC, and IAVI released a petition last week—signed by over 150 organizations and individuals—calling for support in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals-Framework the research, development, and delivery of new and improved medicines, vaccines, and other health tools for the diseases and health conditions that predominantly affect LMICs as well as marginalized, vulnerable populations globally.