The Gates Foundation announces a donation of $50 million to collaborate with China on research and development. Bill Gates visits China globally | Pharmaceuticals | Bill Gates
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced on June 15 that it will continue to work with the Beijing Municipal Government and Tsinghua University to support the Global Health Drug Research and Development Center in drug research and development, which is used to treat infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, reduce their impact on the world's poorest people, and improve global health.
90% of the global burden of infectious diseases is borne by low - and middle-income countries, but only 10% of global drug research and development expenditures help these countries cope with infectious diseases. With the joint support of the Beijing Municipal Government, Tsinghua University, and the Gates Foundation, the Global Health Drug Research and Development Center was established in 2016. It is the first new non-profit research and development institution in China to cooperate with the government and social capital.
To further strengthen the drug development capabilities of the Global Health Drug Development Center, on June 15th, the Gates Foundation pledged to donate $50 million to the center over the next five years. The Beijing Municipal Government promises to provide funding support of equal scale. Tsinghua University will continue to support the development of the center in areas such as research platform construction and sharing, achievement transformation, and talent cultivation.
At present, the Global Health Drug Research and Development Center is committed to developing new drugs to treat infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. Over the past six years, the Global Health Drug Development Center has established advanced research centers and an extensive global drug discovery network to establish preclinical and clinical drug pipelines. At present, the preclinical pipeline of the center covers more than ten projects, including a preclinical candidate malaria drug developed in collaboration with the Malaria Drug Association and the Malaria Drug Accelerator, which has shown good potential in reducing drug resistance risk, reducing dosage, and preventing malaria. The Global Health Drug Research and Development Center has also cooperated with several international research and development institutions and found a series of new compounds that can synergize with existing tuberculosis drugs, which is expected to significantly shorten the course of treatment of tuberculosis.
Zheng Zhijie, Chief Representative of the Gates Foundation Beijing Representative Office, stated that he is pleased to see that the Global Health Drug Research and Development Center has continuously increased its development potential in the global health drug innovation ecosystem. He hopes that the center will continue to make breakthroughs in research and development with the support of a new round of funding, and improve the possibility and accessibility of drug use for people in need around the world.
Officials from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology and the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park Management Committee stated that they will continue to work closely with the Gates Foundation and Tsinghua University to jointly support innovative drug research and development at the Global Health Drug Research and Development Center. We hope that the center will continue to focus on public health diseases and other major disease challenges, introduce global innovative resources, explore models and pathways for drug conversion research, and generate more original achievements that originate from Beijing and benefit the world.
Vice President of Tsinghua University, Wang Hongwei, stated that over the past six years, with the joint support of the Gates Foundation, the Beijing Municipal Government, and Tsinghua University, the Global Health Drug Research and Development Center has established a new drug research institution with efficient operation, complete functions, and outstanding biopharmaceutical research and transformation capabilities. Through in-depth cooperation among all parties in the new stage, we believe that the center will continue to move towards new heights of development and make greater contributions to the global health cause.