But without knowledge and technique borrowed from other, sometimes seemingly unrelated fields, they would not have succeeded. Drug discovery can't start until the science is poised for it. Starting a major effort 10 years earlier would not have helped and might have discouraged a successful effort. Since it takes so long to succeed in any given field, shifting priorities annually in a dramatic way doesn't make sense. Furthermore, it runs the risk of leaving us with little to show for years of effort.
Future discovery depends on a pipeline of trainees.
I believe it would be a mistake to focus exclusively on disease categories in deciding how to distribute resources. It is an over-simplistic approach. In recent years, we have shifted further toward small grants to individual researchers. But, many of the health problems we face today will require multidisciplinary team solutions. Our past success derives in large part from our pool of talented researchers.