Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Statement on Intention to Create Non-Profit Medical Research Institute

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SEATTLE (April 25, 2017) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation intends to establish a non-profit medical research institute that will combat diseases that disproportionately impact the poor in low- and middle-income countries by accelerating progress in translational science – the process that translates promising scientific discoveries into potential medical products.

The foundation anticipates that the initial focus of the institute will be to enhance the product pipeline for malaria, tuberculosis, and enteric and diarrheal diseases. Since 1990, the global health product development pipeline has produced dozens of high-impact interventions that have helped save more than 100 million lives. The institute intends to build on this progress by capitalizing on new strategies that could increase the identification, selection, and optimization of novel candidates for drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and medical devices.

The foundation intends to transition potentially viable interventions to product development partners, developing country manufacturers, and others to take forward into late-stage development.

It is anticipated that the institute will be co-located in the Seattle and Boston metropolitan regions and that Penny Heaton, who currently leads the foundation's Vaccine Development and Surveillance Program, will take a senior leadership role with the institute.

The foundation is in the early stages of planning and design for the institute, and further details will be provided toward the end of 2017. For more information on the institute, please consult our frequently asked questions document.

 

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

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