Infectious diseases remain the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. Affordable effective drugs and diagnostics are critical for patient management and disease control but the development of new drugs and diagnostics is too slow to keep up with the emergence and spread of infectious diseases around the world. Innovative collaborative research and development involving disease endemic countries and developed countries are urgently needed to accelerate progress along the path from discovery to product adoption. These emerging approaches and the need for increased investment in human and financial resources to support them are discussed.