Japanese public-private fund debuts
The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund debuted on Monday to advance R&D for therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics for infectious diseases in the developing world. The public-private partnership was established by the Japanese government, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme and a consortium of five Japanese pharmas to facilitate global R&D partnerships between Japanese and non-Japanese entities for diseases that include HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will contribute Y700 million ($7.2 million) each to the fund, while the Gates Foundation will contribute at least Y300 million ($3.1 million).The pharmas will each contribute Y100 million ($1 million). The fund, which said it also will proactively seek out further investment partners, will support the R&D partnerships through monetary grants. ...