Incentives needed for health research affecting developing countries

The Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) called for increased global commitment to funding and coordinating health research to meet the specific needs of developing countries. CEWG chair, John-Arne Røttingen, suggested the need to delink the cost of research from the price of the product, and to develop mechanisms to incentivize research investment in tropical diseases. CEWG report, “Research and development to meet health needs in developing countries: strengthening global financing and coordination” recommended the following: research outputs on health be in the public domai; patent pools should be used to increase sharing of research results; pooled funding mechanisms should coordinate financial resources, including direct grants to promote technology transfer; WHO play a central coordinating role in global health research; increased funding from governments and philanthropic sources; and all countries should spend at least 0.01% of GDP on research.