Patents are not the best innovation incentives for health-relevant technologies. They exclude the poor through monopoly markups and by leading innovators to neglect the specific needs of the poor. This is unjust. It is also a gift to infectious diseases, which can thrive among the poor and evolve new strains. To suppress and eradicate such diseases, we must design better incentives that reward originators according to the social benefit achieved with their innovation. We can do this through sector-specific impact funds that distribute a pre-announced flow of money among participating innovations according to their impact on global health. Such a reward mechanism promotes (rather than impedes) rapid uptake and effective use while also stimulating development of additional innovations needed by the poor. Impact funds would make investments in health-relevant technologies far more cost-effective—and much more just by valuing the health of all human beings equally, regardless of their income or location.