How $8bn in funding commitments for Covid-19 R&D have played out globally
Since Covid-19 was first identified as a pandemic threat, governments, funders, research institutes and companies have channeled vast resources towards tackling the outbreak. According to Policy Cures Research, a non-profit focused on collecting data on global health research and development, global funding commitments for Covid-19 have totalled almost $8 billion since 1 January.
Data collected by Policy Cures Research up to 17 June—and summarised in the following three graphs—show how this money has been spread around the research world. Only published funding announcements have been included. Some of the pledges European Commission-coordinated fundraising event on 4 May are not yet accounted for, nor are funds set aside by stimulus packages in the United States that have not been announced by government agencies.
Private companies have been the main beneficiary of Covid-19 R&D funding, largely due to major investments by the US in vaccine development at companies including AstraZeneca ($1.2bn), Janssen ($608m) and Moderna ($430m). The vast majority of funding for international bodies is also vaccine-focused, with over $1bn committed to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
While vaccine research is the dominant topic for private companies, public-private consortia are more likely to cover therapeutics and universities and independent research institutions are responsible for more basic research.
