WIPO Re:Search: Driving Progress Toward the SDGs by Catalyzing Drug, Diagnostic, and Vaccine Development for Neglected Diseases

Malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases (neglected diseases) affect more than one billion people, mostly in the world's poorest populations, and cost developing economies billions of dollars each year. United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.3 aims to end neglected disease epidemics by 2030. To achieve this ambitious target, expansion of research and development (R&D) of new neglected disease vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs (medical technologies)—as envisioned by SDG Target 3.B—is crucial. There remain significant unmet needs for medical technologies that address gaps and limitations in the current arsenal, such as the absence of preventive vaccines for certain neglected diseases; insufficient diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for low-level infections following mass drug administration campaigns; and the growing threat of drug resistance.