Message from Leadership

Celebrating 10 Years Since Our Founding

In 2023, the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) celebrates its 10th anniversary. We are grateful to our funding partners and sponsors for their support and collaboration over the past decade, to our product development partners for their passion and tireless efforts in the fight against neglected infectious diseases, and to the global health community for its solidarity and partnership.

The concept of the GHIT Fund was born from notes written on a paper napkin by the late Dr. Tachi Yamada and GHIT's founding CEO, Dr. BT Slingsby, in 2013. Since then, we have been fighting neglected diseases in low and middle-income countries by connecting ideas, people, and innovations from around the world. In our experience, passion and vision are more powerful tools than most may realize. Each new drug in development or nearing approval has the potential to save tens of millions of lives.

Cumulative investments over the past 10 years have totaled approximately 30 billion yen, supporting more than 100 R&D projects. More than 50 projects are currently underway, of which 12 are in clinical development. As of April 1, 2023, GHIT's family of active Japanese and global partners is 170-strong, all supporting our mission to connect Japanese pharmaceutical companies and universities with global partner institutions to accelerate global health innovation.

GHIT 3.0 Strategic Plan

In our third phase of operations (FY2023 - FY2027), we will continue to promote the development of therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics through global collaboration, aiming for greater efficiency and acceleration of R&D than ever before. Our third five-year plan, “GHIT 3.0”, features three strategic pillars: Galvanize Innovation, Catalyze Partnerships and Maximize Impact. The work under these pillars reinforces our role as an international organization that promotes innovation and product development for neglected diseases prevalent mainly in low and middle-income countries.

Developing new medicines is no easy task, requiring an average of over ten years of painstaking effort and tens of billions of yen to develop a single medicine. But the time and investment are worth it. GHIT's projects, which have been created and nurtured over the past decade, are about to bear fruit. By delivering the therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics that result from our development partnerships to sick patients as quickly as possible, we will save countless lives and prevent untold suffering and stigma from the complications of neglected diseases.

At the GHIT Fund, we will continue to promote innovation and R&D from Japan and fight neglected infectious diseases through global partnerships. We remain steadfast in our mission to reduce the suffering caused by neglected infectious diseases that afflict more than a billion people, in support of a healthy world for all. We leap into this work together with you, as partners.

We look forward to your continued support and cooperation.