Print（PDF/62KB） Jun. 01, 2017 Sustainability

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Contributes funding to the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) for the Second Period

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President: Masayo Tada) announced today that it has committed to supporting the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) for the second period (FY2018 to FY2022). Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma has been a contributor since the first period (FY2013 to FY2017) of the GHIT Fund in FY2016.

The GHIT Fund launched in 2013 to leverage Japanese expertise and capacity for life-saving health innovations, including drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics, to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) prevalent in the developing world. The GHIT Fund is the first international public-private partnership of its kind for global health research and development, between the Japanese Government: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, private companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and United Nations Development Programme.

In the first period (FY2013 to FY2017), the GHIT fund has invested a total of approximately ¥10 billion in 61 projects that leverage Japanese innovation and capacities in pharmaceuticals. Through applications ranging from exploratory studies early in the drug discovery process to clinical studies in Latin America and Africa, Japan's drug discovery technologies and capabilities have been put to direct and effective uses for the sake of global health. The years 2014 and 2015 saw the adoption of the screening programs for malaria and tuberculosis, which Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma jointly promote with its development partners.

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is dedicated to creating innovative and effective pharmaceutical products for people not only in Japan but also around the world. Through our participation in GHIT Fund, we are seeking to explore how we can utilize our innovative drug discovery technologies for NTDs, malaria, and other disease fields in which there are significant unmet medical needs, thereby aiming to enhance Access to Health.

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【About NTDs】
According to the World Health Organization, NTDs are a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in 149 countries and regions, and affect more than one billion people, costing developing economies billions of dollars every year. They mainly affect populations living in poverty, without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals and livestock.