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Is this the world's best investment? The success of global health R&D over the past 20 years is a resounding one - and yet R&D funding to tackle neglected diseases has fallen since the pandemic. In breakthrough work, we find a staggering return on that investment in terms of societal benefit.
Dr Céline Aerts
Senior Analyst
In breakthrough work, we analyse the impact of global health R&D, showing the return on investment in health and economic terms for the first time. We look at the products which have been gamechangers over the last two decades and model the future returns of health innovations which transform the health and economic outlook for vulnerable populations.
PDF of the global reportInteractive report findingsVideo of the report launchThe Ripple Effect 3.0 highlights findings from five new case studies: Arexvy (an RSV vaccine powered by the AS01 malaria-derived adjuvant), DFMO (a sleeping sickness drug repurposed to treat paediatric neuroblastoma), the single-dose HPV vaccine schedule (adopted by HICs based on evidence generated in LMICs), Rotarix (a rotavirus vaccine developed with a South-first strategy), and M72/AS01E (a promising new tuberculosis vaccine candidate). The brief provides quantitative, country-specific evidence of how these global health innovations improve health outcomes and deliver economic value across the US, UK, Japan and Europe.
Explore our interactive map to see how investments in global health R&D deliver domestic benefits and cost savings to high-income countries
10 min read
The AS01 adjuvant, initially advanced through GSK and PATH’s RTS,S malaria vaccine global health research programme, before being adopted across a range of diseases and vaccines candidates, including to enhance the effectiveness of the M72/AS01E candidate vaccine for tuberculosis (TB).
10 min read
The Rotarix rotavirus vaccine was developed by GSK following the side effects-driven withdrawal of the earlier RotaShield vaccine. GSK deliberately adopted a ‘South-first’ access strategy for Rotarix, using trials and distribution in Latin America to build the evidence base that led to its widespread adoption throughout the rich world.
10 min read
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine moved from a two-dose schedule to a single dose for eligible individuals in the primary target group- girls aged 9-14 years. This change was based on innovative research from LMICs that is now being adopted in the UK and has huge potential for scale up across LMICs and HICs alike.
10 min read
DFMO was briefly conceived as a cancer treatment, but, after failing initial trials, it was successfully developed as a treatment for sleeping sickness in Africa, before being repurposed as a cream for unwanted facial hair and finally coming full circle as an FDA-approved treatment for paediatric neuroblastoma.
10 min read
The AS01 adjuvant was initially advanced through the RTS,S malaria vaccine research programme, before being adopted to enhance the effectiveness of GSK’s ‘Arexvy’ respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in older people.
10 min read
Five new case studies, providing quantitative, country-specific proof points showing how these selected global health innovations improve health outcomes and deliver health system cost savings in the UK, US, Japan and Europe.
2 min read
The third iteration of Impact Global Health's 'ripple effect' research provides five new case studies to deepen the evidence base for the domestic benefits of global health R&D.
5 min read
Key messages from The Ripple Effect 2.0 which provides quantitative, country-specific proof points showing how innovations originally developed to address health needs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are now improving health outcomes and delivering economic value across the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Europe.
10 min read
Céline Aerts uncovers the wide range of spillover effects that global health R&D produces in high-income countries.
Browse our full archive of reports. Filter by health area, disease or condition, product, and date. Written by our expert analysts, our reports highlight key messages in the data, make the case for change and offer actionable recommendations.
Our Health Areas resource gives you an at-a-glance summary of the state of innovation and annual R&D investment by disease and condition. Updated regularly, this is a unique quick reference for the global health community.
