Gates foundation grants $220 miIlion to develop new TB vaccine
The World Health Organisation estimates the global economic burden of TB at nearly $12 billion a year, with India and China together accounting for more than half the global economic toll.
Washington: The Gates Foundation has announced a $220 million grant to a US-based not-for-profit biotech to develop modern vaccines to combat TB against the backdrop of a significant increase in drug-resistant strains.
The World Health Organisation estimates the global economic burden of TB at nearly $12 billion a year, with India and China together accounting for more than half the global economic toll.
One of the world's largest not-for-profit biotechs, Aeras announced it is recipient of a grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of up to $220 million over five years.
One of the world's largest not-for-profit biotechs, Aeras announced it is recipient of a grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of up to $220 million over five years, placing it at the forefront of a global scientific initiative
aimed at developing safe, effective vaccines against tuberculosis, a disease that infects two billion people worldwide.
"This infusion of funding must be seen as a global call to action in response to one of the world’s deadliest diseases," said Jim Connolly, president and CEO of Aeras.
"It will allow Aeras to expand upon existing partnerships in Europe, Africa, China, and around the world, and to build new partnerships that will accelerate the development of safe and effective vaccines.
But the scientific challenges are immense, and the threat is global. Without support for this search for new vaccines from every quarter, we will never
eliminate TB as a global health threat," he said.
Globally, the TB vaccine field estimates it will need in excess of $1 billion over the next five years to support worldwide efforts against a disease so complex it is expected to require more than one vaccine to address geographic
variations in the strains, different stages of disease, and a variety of target populations.
"There is an urgent need for the global community to support the full range of tools to eliminate tuberculosis, but the development of TB vaccines that can prevent men, women and children from developing the disease would be the single greatest advance in the global fight against TB," said Trevor
Mundel, president of the Global Health Programme at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
PTI
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