Insecticidal mosquito vector control products are vital components of malaria control programmes. Test facilities are key in assessing the effectiveness of vector control products against local mosquito populations, in environments where they will be used. Data from these test facilities must be of a high quality to be accepted by regulatory authorities, including the WHO Prequalification Team for vector control products. In 2013–4, seven insecticide testing facilities across sub-Saharan Africa, with technical and financial support from Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), began development and implementation of quality management system compliant with the principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) to improve data quality and reliability.

The Vector Expedited Review Voucher (VERV), modelled on the already established US Priority Review Voucher (PRV) for drug development, is a proposed no cost new incentive to encourage R&D focussed agriculture companies to innovate in public health where there are significant economic barriers to product innovation. The VERV would encourage companies to invest in novel insecticide development for public health, such as malaria, by rewarding the registrant of a new public health insecticide with a voucher to receive an expedited review of a second, more profitable product outside public health. Getting to market faster is valuable and gives an innovator registrant an opportunity to generate a financial return to mitigate the development cost losses on a public health use insecticide.

This study assesses development of new medicines and technologies for 35 poverty-related and neglected diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The findings and recommendations will help shape future investments and activities in this field for the UK government and other major government donors and philanthropies.

This report, Keeping The Promise: Product Development Partnerships’ Role in the New Age of Health Research and Product Development is a coordinated effort from 12 product development partnerships (PDPs) to highlight the unique capabilities and successes of these organisations in preventing and responding to both long-standing and emerging global health threats, including TB, HIV, malaria, a host of neglected diseases, COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and pandemic preparedness.