The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced a total of approximately 750 million yen (US$6.6 million) to invest in six partnerships to develop new lifesaving drugs for malaria and Chagas disease, a vaccine for malaria, and diagnostics for TB.

The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced a total of 3.29 billion yen (US$30 million) to invest in 11 partnerships to develop new lifesaving drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for malaria, TB, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and mycetoma. This includes five new projects and six that will receive continued funding.

This announcement demonstrates the continued leadership and commitment of the Government of Japan, leading life sciences companies, international foundations and other partners to combat neglected diseases; with this replenishment, which marks a doubling of previous commitments, GHIT will accelerate and expand its development of new tools while ensuring they are accessible and delivered to the world’s most vulnerable.

Approach shows promise for achieving malaria eradication and tackling rapidly spreading malaria drug resistance; GHIT also announces investments in malaria and tuberculosis diagnostics and new treatments for leishmaniasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis.

TOKYO, JAPAN (March 20, 2014)—The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund), a new public health partnership that is bringing Japanese know-how and investment to the global fight against infectious diseases, today announced three grants worth a total of US$6.8 million to speed the development of innovative drugs for some of the world’s most neglected diseases—schistosomiasis, Chagas disease and parasitic roundworms. GHIT also announced a second round of funding of US$5.65 million for a novel vaccine candidate for tuberculosis and unveiled a new investment program that will help researchers find the most promising new drug candidates to battle these and other infectious diseases.

The Global Health Innovation and Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) announced that it will invest US$720,000 for early work on a novel vaccine candidate against TB being co-developed by Japan’s Create Vaccine Co., Ltd. and Aeras. The announcement is part of the first round of grants by GHIT Fund, a public-private partnership launched earlier this year that brings together the Japanese Government, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and pharmaceutical companies.