Research and development for neglected diseases: more is still needed, and faster

Neglected diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases are rife where poverty prevails. Hundreds of millions of people living in rural and urban areas of resource-poor countries are affected.1 According to data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, the collective burden of neglected diseases is 248 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and they caused 4 million deaths in 2010 (table).2,3 The Millennium Development Goals directly or indirectly address neglected diseases.