Japan-headquartered Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund has announced a total investment of approximately JPY 1 billion ($7.3 million) in four R&D projects for the development of vaccine, drug, and diagnostics for malaria and tuberculosis (TB).
GHIT Fund has decided to invest JPY 800 million ($5.5 million) in a malaria vaccine development project currently in the preclinical stage. This project is being led by the European Vaccine Initiative, the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (RIMD) at Osaka University, the University of Copenhagen, the University of Tübingen, Danish biotechnology company AdaptVac, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., and Nobelpharma Co., Ltd.
This investment is a continuation of previous projects supported by GHIT, which has invested a total of approximately JPY 630 million ($4.3 million) from 2013 to 2022. The present project aims to develop a vaccine that prevents the proliferation of malaria parasites during the blood-stage of infection. The vaccine is designed to achieve higher efficacy and longer-lasting protection with fewer doses. By reducing manufacturing costs, the project also aims to improve access to vaccines in malaria-endemic regions.
In addition, the GHIT Fund will invest a total of approximately JPY 260 million (1.8 million) in the following three R&D projects:
(1) Target research project for malaria diagnostics by Ehime University and Universiti Malaysia Sabah
(2) Target research project for TB drug by the University of Auckland and the University of Tokyo
(3) Target research project for malaria drug by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), LPIXEL Inc., and University of Dundee
