The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced today a total investment of approximately JPY 1.7 billion (USD 11.4 million¹) in five projects for the development of schistosomiasis diagnostics and drugs for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) ².

Investment total of approximately JPY 780 million (USD 5.2 million¹) for the development of diagnostics for schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis is one of 21 NTDs that affect approximately 250 million people worldwide, with 90% of cases occurring in Africa. People become infected through contact with contaminated freshwater, allowing the parasite to penetrate their skin³. Among the five species of schistosomiasis causing the disease, two are widely distributed on the African continent: Schistosoma hematobium, which infects the urogenitary tract, and Schistosoma mansoni, which infects the intestine and liver. Current diagnostics face challenges such as low sensitivity and quality issues, making it difficult to accurately assess the infection status. To address this issue, the GHIT Fund had decided to invest approximately JPY 780 million (USD 5.2 million¹) in two projects to develop new diagnostics for schistosomiasis led by Drugs & Diagnostics for Tropical Diseases, a non-profit organization based in San Diego, USA,  in collaboration with Medical & Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer of clinical diagnostic kits and reagents,  Nagasaki University Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

The project will advance the development of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for Schistosoma mansoni, leveraging previous research findings and evaluating the diagnostic performance of the candidate RDT in endemic regions of Africa. In addition, the project team will develop a new serological RDT for Schistosoma haematobium. These tests are expected to be used as a low-cost, easy-to-use point-of-care (POC) diagnostics to support decision for Interruption of Transmission/Stopping Mass Drug Administration (MDA) and for subsequent Surveillance of the disease.

In addition, the GHIT Fund will invest in the following three R&D projects for a total amount of approximately JPY 932 million (USD 6.2 million¹):

1) Phase I clinical trial project for dengue vaccine by VLP Therapeutics, Inc. and Nagasaki University

2) Screening project against chikungunya by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and Eisai Co., Ltd.

3) Screening project against Chagas disease by Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Shionogi & Co., Ltd.

Please refer to Appendix 1 for detailed descriptions of these projects and their development stages.

As of March 18, 2025, the GHIT Fund has invested in 35 projects, including 14 discovery projects, 12 preclinical projects and 9 clinical trials⁴. The total amount of investments since 2013 is JPY 37.5 billion (USD 251 million¹) (Appendix 2).

¹ USD1 = JPY149.63, the approximate exchange rate on February 28, 2025.

² These awarded projects were selected and approved as new investments from among proposals to RFP2023-002 and RFP2024-001 for the Product Development Platform and the Screening Platform, which were open for applications from June 2023 to July 2024.

³ WHO: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schistosomiasis  

⁴ This number includes projects in the registration phase.