Raising awareness of the importance of funding for tuberculosis small-molecule research.
Tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery research is hampered by several factors, but as in many research areas, the available funding is insufficient to support the needs of research and development. Recent years have seen various large collaborative efforts involving public-private partnerships, mimicking the situation during the golden age of antibiotic drug discovery during the 1950s and 1960s. The large-scale collaborative efforts funded by the European Union (EU) are now subject to diminishing financial support. As a result, TB researchers are increasingly looking for novel forms of funding, such as crowdfunding, to fill this gap. Any potential solution will require a careful reassessment of the incentives to encourage additional organizations to provide funding.
Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'L. Spallanzani', University of Pavia, via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
Giovanna
G
Riccardi
Innovative Medicines for Tuberculosis, EPFL Innovation Park, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Iain G
IG
Old
Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc., 1633 Bayshore Highway, Suite 342, Burlingame, CA 94010, USA; Collaborations in Chemistry, 5616 Hilltop Needmore Road, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526, USA. Electronic address: ekinssean@yahoo.com.
Sean
S
Ekins
D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000191:economics*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics*; D005060:Europe; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000191:economics*
D000995:Antitubercular Agents