The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced today a total investment of approximately JPY 1.39 billion (USD 8.8 million¹) in six R&D projects for the development of drugs, diagnostics and vaccines for malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).²

Investment of JPY 648 million (approx. USD 4.1 million¹) for development of an mRNA vaccine to reduce infection and transmission of vivax malaria

Malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax remains a major challenge to malaria elimination efforts due to the parasite’s ability to form dormant liver-stage hypnozoites. These dormant parasites may reactivate months or even years after the initial infection, causing recurrent episodes of malaria. In addition to triggering repeated blood infections, reactivation enables transmission back to mosquitoes, allowing the disease to persist within communities. To address this problem, the GHIT Fund is investing JPY 648 million (USD 4.1 million¹) in a global partnership aimed at developing an mRNA vaccine to reduce infection and transmission of vivax malaria. This project is being led by Mahidol University and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, and Ehime University in Japan. The investment builds on a prior GHIT-supported project³  that received approximately JPY 70 million (USD 0.4 million¹) between 2023 and 2025.

Investment of JPY 93 million (approx. USD 0.6 million¹) in diagnostic registration and JPY 183 million (USD 1.1 million¹) in drug development for Chagas disease

Chagas disease is a parasitic infection primarily transmitted through the bite of triatomine bugs. It is estimated that more than seven million people worldwide are infected, with the majority of cases occurring in Latin America⁴. Mother-to-child transmission also poses a significant public health challenge, making early diagnosis and prompt treatment essential. For the control of congenital Chagas disease, the GHIT Fund is investing JPY 93 million (USD 0.6 million¹) in the registration of a point-of-care diagnostic test in Argentina and Bolivia. This project is led by ISGlobal (the Barcelona Institute for Global Health), a research institute in Spain, and Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. in Japan.  The GHIT Fund is also investing approximately 183 million yen (USD 1.1 million¹) in lead identification, which represents an early-stage step in the development of new drugs for Chagas disease being led by Eisai Co., Ltd. and others.

In addition, the GHIT Fund will invest a total of approximately JPY 466 million (approx. USD 2.9 million¹) in the following three R&D projects:

(1) Facilitating local universal TB testing with Lung Flute ECO (FLUTTE): Validation in children, health care workers, and people living with HIV(PLHIV) with robust comparators for TB testing by the Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Acoustic Innovations Co., Ltd., Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Aurum Institute, Stellenbosch University, Instituto Nacional de Saúde and World Alliance for Lung and Intensive Care Medicine in Uganda.

(2) Development of a novel P. falciparum multistage vaccine by Ehime University, Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., PATH, Statens Serum Institut and University of Copenhagen.

(3) AI-guided approaches for schistosomiasis drug discovery by Aberystwyth University and University of Dundee in the UK and BrightCore, Inc. in Japan.

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

The six projects funded in this round bring together partners from a total of 13 countries. Since its inception, the GHIT Fund has worked with more than 210 research and development partners, including more than 140 overseas institutions. The GHIT Fund serves as a bridge connecting pharmaceutical companies, universities, and research institutes in Japan with their counterparts around the world.

As of December 31, 2025, there are 43 ongoing projects, including 19 discovery projects, 12 preclinical projects, and 12 clinical trials⁵ in the GHIT Fund’s portfolio. The total amount of investments since 2013 is JPY 42.5 billion (USD 271 million¹) (Appendix 2).

¹ USD 1 = JPY 156.53, the approximate exchange rate on December 30,2025.

² These awarded projects were selected and approved as new investments from among proposals to RFP2024-002 and RFP2025-001 for the Product Development Platform, the Target Research Platform, and the Hit-to-Lead Platform, which were open for applications from June 2024 to July 2025.

³ Project details: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/207/en

⁴ WHO: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)

⁵ This number includes projects in the registration phase.