India leads BRICS countries in R&D to eliminate TB, says study
India and the other BRICS countries that have the highest number of TB cases have put in more money and work between 2007 and 2016
India has poured the highest amount of funds into research to eliminate TB among BRICS nations, a study has found.
Although the United States, given their history of research,
continues to dominate in the funding and research and
development (R&D) for the infectious disease, India and the
other BRICS countries that have the highest number of TB cases
have put in more money and work between 2007 and 2016.
Research is crucial for the ‘END TB strategy’, a
global effort to eliminate TB. The bibliometric analysis —
a statistical analysis of written publications — published
in the science journal
PLOS One
on June 25, shows that India accounted for 9.7 per cent of the
references for research papers published between January 2007 to
December 2016.
India has the highest disease burden for TB in the world, with
4,23,000 deaths and 27,90,000 cases in 2016.
Scientists have said the country will have to take charge of its
own research, instead of relying on work done in countries with
different conditions and different needs, if it wants to beat
the disease.
The Indian government’s stated goal is to eliminate TB
from the country by 2025, five years ahead of the WHO’s
global target.
One effort India has made towards its goal is the global India
TB Research Consortium. Headed by the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR), with scientists and interested parties from
across the world involved, it has been researching on newer
diagnostics, drugs and potential vaccines candidates to help
fight the disease.
Currently, United States leads with 18.4 per cent of references
in published studies.
However, at 13.7 per cent, BRICS — Brazil, India, China,
Russia, South Africa — had the highest annual growth rate
of publications on TB. The global average is 7.3 per cent,
higher than the growth rate found in a previous bibliometric
analysis of the years 1997 to 2006.
China closely followed India with 7.3 per cent of references.
Frequently acknowledged funders were US and EU-based, said the
analysis, with China and India emerging as top funders.
Publications are not just indicators of the amount and quality
of research going into TB but also of collaborations between
countries.
So far, collaborations are common between low to middle income
countries (LMIC) such as India and high income but low burden
countries such as the US and those in the EU.
The analysis says that collaborations between LMICs, especially
those with similar conditions, such as India, Brazil and South
Africa, will be more beneficial for productivity.
Source:
News18.com
