The global health innovative technology (GHIT) fund has announced a total investment of approximately JPY 1.37 billion (US$ 8.5 million) in five R&D projects for the development of drugs for malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
Investment of around US$ 4.4 million has been announced for preclinical development of an antimalarial drug.
Malaria is a serious infectious disease that affects more than 280 million people and claims approximately 610,000 lives worldwide each year. Over 95% of all malaria cases occur in Africa, with more than 75% of those affected being children under the age of five.
Countermeasures against Plasmodium falciparum malaria, which has a particularly high case fatality rate, and Plasmodium vivax malaria, which is prevalent in Southeast Asia and the Americas, are an urgent priority.
To end the epidemics of malaria, new drugs with novel modes of action which overcome known resistance associated with existing therapeutics are needed. It is crucial to develop compounds that can block transmission and be used for chemoprevention, acute treatment, and treatment of relapsing malaria are especially valuable to drive eradication.
To address this issue, the GHIT Fund is investing in a global partnership aimed at the preclinical development of an antimalarial drug which could be used for treatment, chemoprevention or single encounter radical cure and prophylaxis (SERCAP) of malaria. This project is being led by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), Tanabe Pharma Corporation in Japan, and the University of Georgia in the United States.
The investment builds on a prior GHIT-supported projectthat received approximately JPY 600 million (USD 3.8 million) between 2015 and 2025. Through this project, there is also the prospect of developing a long‑acting injectable that can provide three or more months of protection against recurrent Plasmodium vivax malaria.
Investment of around (US$ 2 million) in global evaluation in Kenya, Senegal and India and regulatory registration for Eumycetoma
Eumycetoma is a severely neglected tropical disease that causes chronic, destructive infections, often leading to disability, amputation, loss of income, and social stigma. It affects tens of thousands of people in resource-constrained rural communities across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with the highest burden reported in the so-called ‘mycetoma belt’ between latitudes 15° S and 30° N. Although under-reported, global estimates suggest that more than 100,000 people may be living with the disease, with thousands of new cases annually. Despite its significant impact, current treatments remain limited and are often toxic and poorly tolerated.
The GHIT Fund has been investing in a collaboration between Eisai and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiatives (DNDi) to develop a treatment for mycetoma since 2017. This support began with a phase 2 randomised clinical trial conducted in Sudan and, since 2023, has extended to supporting the registration of fosravuconazole based on the trial results as well as a cohort study providing controlled early access to fosravuconazole for patients with eumycetoma in Sudan. To the best of our knowledge, no drug for mycetoma has been evaluated through randomised controlled trials in patients diagnosed with the disease prior to the initiation of the GHIT Fund-supported trial in Sudan.
Building on the results obtained in the study, the GHIT Fund has decided to invest approximately US£ 2 million in a project to conduct multi-country, open‑label clinical trials in Kenya, Senegal, and India to generate additional evidence for the WHO recommendation and regulatory registration of fosravuconazole for eumycetoma. The new trial will address limitations of the earlier study, including small sample size, single‑country population, and limited pathogen diversity.
The GHIT fund is a Japan-based international public-private partnership (PPP) fund that was formed between the Government of Japan, multiple pharmaceutical companies, the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The GHIT fund invests in and manages an R&D portfolio of development partnerships aimed at addressing neglected diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases, which afflict the world’s vulnerable and underserved populations. In collaboration with global partners, the GHIT Fund mobilises Japanese industry, academia and research institutes to create new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases.
