Italy invests too little and inefficiently in research for Tuberculosis (TB), malaria and other neglected diseases
Rome, 16 June 2009 - Italy invests too little and inefficiently in research for Tuberculosis (TB), malaria and other neglected diseases. This is the conclusion of the report "Tubercolosi: omissione di soccorso - L'impegno per gli investimenti italiani nella ricerca e lo sviluppo di nuove terapie contro una malattia globale", published by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in collaboration with Bocconi University and prefaced by Silvio Garattini, Director of the Pharmacological Institute Mario Negri, and Pietro Marcenaro, President of the Italian Senate’s Human Rights Commission.
The report – presented this morning in a debate organised by the Italian Senate’s Human Rights Commission and MSF - examines the sources of funding for medical research in Italy and particularly the funding system for research and development of new drugs and diagnostic tools for TB, malaria and other neglected diseases.
Last year, the Italian government allocated 427,8 million euro to research, a meagre amount if compared with the donations for research made by financial institutions in 2006 (172 million euro), and the 1,07 billions allocated in the same period by the pharmaceutical industry involved in research and development of new drugs.
“In a few weeks the G8 meeting will take place in Italy”, says Pietro Marcenaro, President of the Italian Senate’s Human Rights Commission. “During this meeting, our country can renew its own commitment and focus the attention of the most powerful governments in the world so that they take on responsibility to tackle certain diseases. Naturally, respecting commitments and promises already made - which is not the case today - is a pre-condition to realising this ambition. What must not happen is that development funding for poor countries, particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa, decreases”.
“According to the data collected by MSF, in 2007 the Italian government allocated, but not in fact yet dispersed , 31.131 million euros for Tuberculosis and other neglected diseases, equivalent to 7.27% of the total funds for research”, says Raffaella Ravinetto, President of MSF Italy. "This low figure is shocking if we think that TB kills each year 1.7 million people, affects nine million and has now new faces that are even more difficult to combat, such as patients co-infected with HIV and TB and the spread of TB strains resistant to drugs".
MSF criticises not only the amount allocated by Italy to research new drugs and new diagnostic tools for TB, malaria and other neglected diseases, but also the fact that Italy has not created funds specifically allocated for each disease.
MSF asks the Italian government and other institutions analysed in the report for greater transparency: MSF had to engage in a painfully slow research process in order to collect the data necessary for the report. This information should have been readily available as is the case in other European countries. Greater clarity on the funds actually allocated is also needed, as MSF has noted a difficulty in monitoring the use of funds.
In addition to increasing the funds allocated to research of new drugs and diagnostic tools to combat Tuberculosis, the Italian government should support alternative funding mechanisms for research and development, ensuring the development of drugs and diagnostic tools in a way to make them accessible to those who need them and not to tie the price of the final product to the cost of research. In particular, MSF asks the Italian government to establish a prize fund for a Tuberculosis test that can be used at the point of care (doing the test at point of care means that the diagnosis is made as close as possible to the patient’s home). Today 85% of patients affected by TB seek treatment in small clinics or health centres where diagnostic tests are either unavailable or the only available method is microscopy, which has remained basically the same for 130 years and identifies only 66% of cases, essentially useless for diagnosing TB in children or people with HIV.
MSF also calls on Italy, which next month will host the G8, to play an active role in that forum to promote greater commitment to fighting TB, malaria and other neglected diseases.