Although neglected diseases account for 11% of the global disease burden, they are targeted by only a small proportion of the new drugs developed every year.
Between January 2012 and September 2018, a total of 256 new drugs entered the market, but only eight (3.1%) were designed to treat neglected diseases. This value exceeds the proportion for 1975-99, which was 1.1%, but falls short of the 4.3% mark recorded for 2000-11.
The term “neglected diseases” refers to malaria, diarrheic diseases, tuberculosis, and 20 neglected tropical diseases recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), such as dengue, chikungunya, Chagas and leishmaniasis, among others.
