Malaria research & development will need more than $8 billion over the next decade (2013-2022) to fight back the deadly disease, according to a report by an independent nonprofit research group called Policy Cures.

The report titled, "From Pipeline to Product: Malaria R&D Funding Needs into the Next Decade" said that governments will require to spend $8.5 billion on research & development to find preventions and cures for the disease that threatens nearly 50 per cent of the world's population. 

The midrange projection demands investments of around $700 million per annum. Nearly two-thirds of the projected investment would be required for producing drugs that can fully eradicate parasites from infected patients, vaccines that can stop transmission of the infection between humans and mosquitoes, and vector control products.

The report stressed that investments on research & development in the field are critical to save the lives of millions of people. As par available figures, malaria kills nearly 660,000 people in Africa every year.

David Reddy, chief executive of Medicines for Malaria Venture, also discussed the dangers posed by the Plasmodium vivax species of malaria parasite.

Speaking about the dangers, Reddy said, "For both P. vivax and P. falciparum malaria, we need new, effective, and affordable tools - including drugs - to ensure that we not only clear parasites from the body but also protect against immediate re-infection and ideally help limit transmission."

It may be noted here that the Plasmodium vivax species of malaria parasite accounts for up to 81 per cent of the malaria cases in Latin America and 50 per cent of all malaria cases in South and Southeast Asia.