The ripple effect: Video
By Impact Global Health 22 September 2025
Key messages from the report
1. Investing in global health R&D delivers extraordinary economic returns while advancing health equity
Investing in global health R&D generates remarkable multiplier effects: $71 billion in high-income country (HIC) government funding from 2007-2023 has catalysed $511 billion in GDP growth, created 643,000 jobs, and sparked 20,000 patents. Whilst 90% of this funding has been concentrated in HIC institutions, the investments have delivered life-saving innovations that work across borders. Yet in the current geopolitical climate, traditional funders face pressure to reduce these investments. Scaling back now would not only jeopardise progress in saving lives globally, but it would also forfeit one of the most efficient drivers of domestic innovation and economic growth.
2. Innovations cross borders - with dual benefits for LMICs and HICs
We’ve identified at least 22 health innovations originally developed for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that have delivered unexpected benefits to HICs. These include vaccines, diagnostics, delivery platforms, and treatments. The AS01 adjuvant developed by GSK, for example, was initially created for the RTS,S malaria vaccine, but has proved pivotal in the development of the Shingrix and RSV vaccines, which are now widely administered in HICs. AS01 is also currently being investigated for use in new tuberculosis vaccines, including M72, a potential game-changer in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
3. Global health R&D is a pillar of national security and builds pandemic response capacity
COVID-19 validated decades of investment in global health research. Platforms developed for malaria (ChAdOx1), TB (GeneXpert), and the rVSV-based Ebola vaccine became essential pandemic tools and helped pioneer a faster approval process. Building distributed research and manufacturing capacity isn't simply about equity - it's about creating resilience for when, not if, the next pandemic emerges from regions with limited surveillance. The speed of our response to the next pandemic will depend on what we invest today. Protecting lives tomorrow means sustaining discovery now.