More than 1 billion people are affected by neglected diseases -- this statistic is often quoted, but the truth is that we really know very little about how many people are affected by these diseases. We also have trouble understanding how well existing drugs and prevention strategies work on the ground in the developing world.

So what is missing? At least part of the problem is a lack of diagnostic tests that can be used in the resource-poor settings where neglected diseases occur.

Diagnostics play a key role in our understanding and management of diseases -- they can be used to evaluate and map disease prevalence, guide patient care, evaluate treatment efficacy, and measure the impact of control and prevention interventions. In order to better understand diagnostic needs and diagnostics currently in development for neglected diseases, we have expanded the Global Health Primer to include diagnostic development pipelines.

In the Global Health Primer, BIO Ventures for Global Health has identified diagnostics in development for 14 neglected diseases. To complement these disease-specific diagnostic pipelines, we have also added four diagnostic technology profiles to the Global Health Primer to more broadly capture how diagnostic technologies are being applied in this field.

Despite the essential role of diagnostics in effective disease control programs, diagnostics traditionally receive very little attention relative to drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases. In 2010, the G-FINDER survey reported that diagnostics received just 4.1% of all neglected disease R&D funding – the $130 million invested in diagnostics is 10x less than the investment in vaccines and nearly 4x less than the investment in drugs for the same year. While diagnostics are generally less expensive to develop than drugs or vaccines, greater investment is needed to drive innovation in this space.

Diagnostics have the potential to help us convert the rough estimate of 1 billion people to a more specific, granular number and evaluate the impact of treatment and prevention programs on the ground. It is clear that diagnostics continue to be a neglected product class in the neglected disease R&D landscape. Although there are diagnostic products in development for several neglected diseases, increased innovation and investment are needed to bring these valuable new products to the people who need them most. We hope that, as with the disease and target profiles already found in the Global Health Primer, adding these disease-specific diagnostic pipelines and diagnostic technology profiles to the Global Health Primer will provide a roadmap for action to create new diagnostic technologies to help save lives in the developing world.

Elizabeth Ponder is Associate Director, Scientific Affairs, at BIO Ventures for Global Health

Each quarter BVGH updates the content in the Global Health Primer. In addition to updating product information and adding diagnostic technology profiles to the Global Health Primer, this quarter we’ve added four new neglected disease profiles: Buruli ulcer, leprosy, yaws, and dracunculiasis/Guinea worm disease. If you or your organization has updated information on a product in development for neglected diseases, please contact us at globalhealthprimer@bvgh.org.