Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, has announced the publication of a new market report from Research Professional News, an authoritative, editorially independent news service published by Ex Libris. Drawing on data from the Ex Libris Pivot-RP funding service, health think tank Policy Cures Research, the UK Collaborative on Development Research, and other sources, the report examines global funding trends in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research response to the coronavirus pandemic has been a worldwide effort. Nonetheless, tensions between national interests and international collaboration have been at play since the SARS-CoV-2 virus was first identified. Funding has flowed to researchers around the world in unprecedented amounts, but some sectors, countries, and even whole disciplines have been relatively neglected as governments and charities focus on the immediate need to develop and scale up medical work. The Research Professional News report presents an analysis of who the biggest players have been in funding the COVID-19 research response, how their money has been spent, and what lessons global funders have learned about working together as the world begins to look beyond the pandemic.
The report highlights findings in the following key areas: Big bio spending: Researchers working on vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and devices for COVID-19 have claimed the lion’s share of funding; National interests: The United States dominates the leader board of highest spending countries, having committed nearly 50 percent of the global total spending on research, some $4.4 billion; Western dominance: Over 90 percent of research projects are located in high-income countries; Government funding vs. private foundations: The majority of funding has come from governments and national organizations. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the only nongovernmental funder to make it into the top 10 donors; Approaches to vaccine development: Many research bodies in the United States and Europe have focused on newer vaccine technologies. As such, major funding commitments have gone to more experimental companies and university-based laboratories; Funding of therapeutic treatments: Earlier stages of the pandemic saw a greater emphasis on treatments to help control the disease, with $1.3 billion in funding awarded; and Funding by discipline: A significant number of research projects involve the social sciences, suggesting a research response to the wider impact of the pandemic.
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