That amount may seem unrealistically high, but it is a negligible proportion of the estimated $160 billion spent on health-related R&D worldwide. More important, the economic burden of TB has been put as high as $20 billion annually – and even higher if the losses in human capital are included.
目前，每年用于肺结核研发的资金大约在5亿美元。但年资金需求量高达20亿美元。这个数字或许看起来高得不切实际，但和全球1600亿美元的医疗相关研发资金相比并不多。更重要的是，肺结核带来的经济负担高达每年200亿美元——如果将人力资本损失也包括在内还会更高。