New insecticides are crucial in battle against malaria

The UN Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Global Environmental Facility at the World Bank have paid lip service to finding new insecticides. But the Gates Foundation is the only organisation to have seriously supported the effort. In 2005, it gave US$50 million to the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) - an international partnership between five research institutions in South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States - which aims to "develop new and better ways to control the transmission of insect-borne disease".

Promisingly, the initiative has begun investigating compounds to replace the current crop of insecticides, working with major manufacturers (notably Bayer and Syngenta) to bring new products to the market. But public documents indicate that the IVCC is not investigating repellency, which seems misguided.

Other than this initiative - which is dwarfed by the dollars donors spend on bed nets and treatment of insect-borne diseases every year - very little research is being done.

To encourage research, rich countries must urgently adopt measures similar to the Orphan Drug Act and priority review vouchers, both of which have helped attract investment in medicines for which there is no profitable market.

The credit crunch has made investment and risk-taking difficult. But if malaria deaths are to end, politicians, businessmen, celebrities and activists must devote their efforts to creating an environment that encourages investment in new PHIs.