Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of Médecins Sans Frontières' claims that too little funding goes into the development of new drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases, or for illnesses which have proved to be resistant to available treatments.

Globally there is insufficient funding for the development of new drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases and resistance to essential drugs is a growing problem. Responding to these challenges is a priority for the UK, and the Government is leading a major new drive to develop drugs for the world’s deadliest diseases.

The Government has a manifesto commitment to lead a major new programme to develop drugs for the world’s deadliest diseases. The UK Government is the second largest Government funder of product development public-private partnerships (PDPs) and in recent years, these PDPs have developed over 10 drugs, two vaccines and six diagnostic tests. Several new drugs are currently under development for the treatment of illnesses which are resistant to available drugs.