Nine projects, JPY 1.06 billion
The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund announced on 28 October an investment of approximately JPY 1.06 billion (USD 6.8 million) across nine research and development projects. The work covers drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for malaria, neglected tropical diseases and emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola disease, the fund said. The projects were selected from proposals submitted to two calls covering its target research, screening, hit-to-lead and product development platforms, it said.
Trachoma test takes the largest award
About JPY 450 million (USD 2.9 million) is allocated to a project developing a rapid diagnostic test for trachoma, a neglected tropical disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. According to WHO figures cited in the release, the disease causes blindness or visual impairment in approximately 1.9 million people, and nearly 92 million people live in endemic areas where they remain at risk of blindness. The project is led by Drugs and Diagnostics for Tropical Diseases, Medical & Biological Laboratories, The Carter Center and Big Eye Diagnostics. GHIT said the aim is to bring the test to regulatory acceptance and programmatic launch in 2028, and that it is intended to comply fully with the WHO target product profile; the consortium will run verification and validation studies and submit a regulatory dossier.
Ebola diagnostics after emergency declaration
A total of approximately JPY 210 million (USD 1.3 million) goes to three projects for rapid diagnosis of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The fund said it has concentrated support on rapid diagnostic technologies and point-of-care testing for filovirus infections since WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May 2026 over an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. More than 4,500 deaths had been reported in the DRC as of 21 October 2026, according to CDC figures cited in the release. The three projects are led by Medical & Biological Laboratories with Nagasaki University, by Saitama University, and by Eiken Chemical.
Lassa, Nipah, malaria and dengue
A further JPY 400 million (USD 2.5 million) covers five projects: a bivalent mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine against Lassa virus led by the University of Osaka and the University of Texas Medical Branch; a rapid antigen test for Nipah and Hendra viruses led by PATH and iBody; antimalarial antisense oligonucleotide work using bioinformatics and machine learning led by Eisai and Medicines for Malaria Venture; Chagas disease drug discovery led by Nagasaki University, Eisai, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and the University of Dundee; and a whole-blood test for dengue serotypes and chikungunya led by VisGene with the University of Miyazaki, Mahidol University and two Peruvian institutions.
The fund said it had 53 ongoing projects as of 30 September 2026, made up of 26 discovery projects, 14 preclinical projects and 13 clinical trials. Total investment since 2013 stands at JPY 48.1 billion (USD 305 million), it said. Amounts were converted at JPY 157.31 to the dollar, the approximate rate on 30 September 2026.