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Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund

Active Since: 2013

Multi-Company Partnership

Contributing to SDGs…

Japanese-led initiative aiming to discover and advance the development of new health technologies such as drugs, vaccines and diagnostic for low-and middle-income countries.

Global Health Innovation Technology Fund.

MEMBER COMPANIES

PARTNER ORGANISATIONS

  • Academia or research institute

    Broad Institute

    Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

    Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute

    Japan

    St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

    Sabin Vaccine Institute

    KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Program

    Erasmus University

    Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

    The Scripps Research Institute

    Nagasaki University

    Kumamoto National Institute of Technology, Kumamoto College

    Ehime University

    Kyoto University

    Nagoya University

    Fujita Health University

    Keio University School of Medicine

    Teikyo University

    Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University

    Juntendo University

    Kanazawa University

    University of Toyama

    Toyama Prefectural University

    Jichi Medical University

    Tokyo Medical and Dental University

    Hokkaido University

    National Research Center for Protozoan diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

    Institute of Microbial Chemistry

    Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN)

    National Science and Technology Development Agency

    National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition

    National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

    National Institute of Infectious Diseases

    Research Institute of Tuberculosis

    The Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute

    The Kitazato Institute

    Medical Center for Translational Research Osaka University Hospital

    Charité –Universitätsmedizin Berlin

    Gulu University

    Harvard University

    Johns Hopkins University

    Leiden University Medical Center

    McGill University

    Penn State Hershey Medical Center

    The Ohio State University

    The Ohio University

    Trustees of Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine

    Universidad Autònoma Juan Misael Saracho

    Universidad de Concepción, Chile (UC)

    Universidad Mayor de San Simon

    Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)

    Universite Felix Houphouet-Boigny

    University of Buea

    University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

    University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

    University of Cambridge

    University of Chicago

    University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

    University of Dundee

    University of Florida

    University of Kentucky

    University of Liverpool

    University of Melbourne

    University of Minnesota

    University of Pennsylvania

    University of the Philippines- Manila, Philippines

    University of Tübingen (UKT)

    Biomedical Primate Research Centre

    Center for Health Promotion and Research (CHPR)

    Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL)

    Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme (CNRFP)

    Centro para el Desarrollo de Investigación Científica (CEDIC)

    Groupe de Recherche Action en Santé (GRAS)

    Hospital General de Mexico

    Ifakara Health Institute

    Institut de recherche pour le développement

    Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm)

    Instituto de Nutrición “Salvador Zubirán” México (IN)

    Instituto Leonidas & Maria Deane

    International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B)

    Mycetoma Research Center (MRC)

    Tokyo University

    Nagasaki University

    High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)

    Baylor College of Medicine

    Mahidol University

    Colorado State University

    London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

    Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania

    Universiti Sains Malaysia

    University of Bonn

    University of Massachusetts

    Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGLOBAL)

    Centre Pasteur du Cameroon (CPC)

    Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Burkina Faso

    Pasteur Institute Côte d’Ivoire

    Insititute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp

    Collective of Applied Studies and Social Development

    National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand

    Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

  • Bilateral Organisations

    US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA)

  • Global NGOs

    Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance)

    Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)

    PATH

    FIND Diagnostics

    Malaria No More

    European Vaccine Initiative

    Wellcome Trust

    Structural Genomics Consortium

    Mundo Sano

  • Intergovernmental Organizations and Multilaterals

    UNDP

    Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

    UNITAID

    International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

    International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

  • Local NGOs

    Singapore Immunology Network

  • Pharma (Non-IFPMA Member)

    Farmanguinhos

    InBios International, Inc.

    Merck KGaA

    VLP Therapeutics

    Farmanguinhos

    Gennova Biopharmaceuticals

  • Private foundation or development organization

    Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

    SCI Foundation (SCI)

    Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)

  • Product development partnerships

    Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV)

  • Life sciences

    AI Biosciences Inc.

    Antigen Discovery, Inc.

    Biopromic AB

    ERADA Technology Alliance Ltd.

    Latham BioPharm Group (Latham)

    Mologen

    Oasis Diagnostics Corporation

    Ology Bioservices Inc.

    TCG Lifesciences Pvt. Limited

    Aeras

  • Technology

    SimCyp

  • Other business sector

    Asociación Civil Selva Amazónica

    Ciencia y Estudios Aplicados Para el Desarrollo en Salud y Medio Ambiente (CEADES)

    Drugs and Diagnostics for Tropical Diseases

    Klinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Department of Neurology, (MRI)

    Platform of Integral Care for Patients with Chagas Disease

    Raoul Follereau Institute Côte d’Ivoire

    Hope Commission International

  • Professional Services

    Lygature

Objectives

Established in 2013, Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) is a Japanese-led initiative aiming to discover and advance the development of new health technologies such as drugs, vaccines and diagnostic for low-and middle-income countries.

Globalization and the unprecedented speed of cross-border infection in the 21st century has created the need for a global health strategy. Awareness of common global threats to the health of citizens has increased, and governments understand the need to work together to counteract these threats. Since 2000, the global community has focused on three of the biggest threats to human health – HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. In particular, the eradication of malaria and NTDs is listed as one of the 169 targets linked to the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund), is Japan’s first public-private partnership to promote the creation of innovative treatment agents for infectious diseases that affect people in developing countries, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The GHIT Fund was established by three key partners: the Government of Japan, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and five Japanese leading pharmaceutical companies: Astellas Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Shionogi, and Takeda Pharmaceutical. In 2018, there are now 11 full partners.

As the world’s first public-private partnership, GHIT Fund has facilitated research and development for neglected diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and NTDs. As antimicrobial resistance is also now a serious global health threat, GHIT supports AMR related projects. The combination of Japan’s government and its drug industry—the third largest in the world—brings Japan’s technology, innovation and insights to the development of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for the developing world.

Company updates:

Mitsubishi

  • Joint research with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV): The Company provided its pharmaceutical compound library (50,000 compounds) to Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a research institution that focuses on the discovery of new anti-malaria drugs. Three types of promising hit compounds that have the potential to become pharmaceutical products have been identified. In addition, we promoted joint research and from one of these compounds, we acquired two lead compounds as new anti-malaria drug candidates. In April 2019, we will move to the next phase and continue conducting research in collaboration with MMV to create candidate compounds.
  • Joint research with Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi): Together with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (“DNDi”), an international organization involved in non-profit drug development, we began drug discovery research for lead compounds targeting Chagas disease and leishmaniasis in April 2021. MTPC and DNDi have been conducting compound discovery screening for these diseases since September 2019 and succeeded in acquiring nine types of hit compounds. Since the acquired hit compounds fulfilled the criteria for advancing to the lead compound search, the next step in drug discovery, we have set the acquisition of compounds that meet the lead stage criteria as the final goal of the two-year project.

SDGs THE PARTNERSHIP CONTRIBUTES TO

SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing

  1. 3.2: Reduce Under-5 Mortality 
  2. 3.3: Communicable Diseases & NTDs
  3. 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage

SDG 5: Gender Equality

SDG 9: Industry Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals 

RESULTS & MILESTONES

In 2016, GHIT Fund announced it was investing in a vaccine that could block the transmission of two species of malaria and a rapid fire test that can reveal a malaria infection in a matter of minutes.  It is also investing in the development of a new diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) by Fujifilm Corporation and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, which can diagnose TB in HIV-positive patients.

In 2015 the GHIT Fund, its members Eisai, Shionogi and Takeda Pharmaceutical, along with partners the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and AstraZeneca began a ground-breaking initiative to accelerate and cut the cost of early stage drug discovery for two of the world’s most neglected diseases, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

In 2013 Astellas received a $1.86 million grant to develop and register a new pediatric formulation of the gold standard treatment drug praziquantel to combat schistosomiasis.

In June 2013, with support from the GHIT Fund, Takeda began to work with Product Development Partners (PDPs), including MMV, TB Alliance and DNDi, in a program to screen Takeda’s drug compound library for new candidate compounds that might have the potential to be developed into new drugs for the treatment of infections particularly prevalent in developing countries, such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases.

GHIT has provided grants of $5.7 million to six global partnerships developing innovative drugs and vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and Chagas disease in the first round of request for proposal (RFP) in November, 2013.  Another $12 million grants for TB and NTDs were awarded to four innovative projects in the second round of RFP in March, 2014.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

EXTERNAL RESEARCH

Geographic Reach

Global Commitment

Disease Area

Infectious and Parasitic Disease

  • Malaria
  • Tuberculosis
  • Drug-Resistant Infections (AMR)

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

  • Dengue and Chikungunya
  • Chagas Disease