Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT)

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund), headquartered in Japan, is an international public-private partnership between the Government of Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), seven Japanese pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies (Astellas, Chugai, Eisai, Daiichi Sankyo, Shionogi, Sysmex and Takeda), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and United Nations Development Programme. It funds scientific research and development for anti-infectives and diagnostics for diseases that primarily affect the developing world.[1][2] Bill Gates has noted that "GHIT draws on the immense innovation capacity of Japan’s pharmaceutical companies, universities and research institutions to accelerate the creation of new vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tools for global health."[3] Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said: "The GHIT Fund has stepped in to provide that incentive in a pioneering model of partnership that brings Japanese innovation, investment and leadership to the global fight against infectious disease."[4]

The GHIT Fund is the first public-private partnership fund to involve a national government, a UN agency, a consortium of pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies, and international philanthropic foundations.[5][6] It was founded in 2013 with an initial commitment of over US$100 million after the government of Japan made global health a key priority within its overseas development aid budget.[7] The Fund is built on the idea that new investment and innovation are needed to address some of the world’s most neglected diseases[8] and that Japan – a leader in health technologies innovation – could be doing more in the global fight against infectious diseases.[9] In 2016 the Government of Japan announced as part of a G7 Summit communique that it will make a US$130 million contribution to the GHIT Fund/UNDP replenishment.[10]

The public-private partnership model, the inclusion of a whole pharmaceutical sector and the structure of individual research projects across sectors and national boundaries are all aimed at reducing the R&D risk to any one entity and to ensure that findings are open to all, according to the Fund's CEO and Executive Director BT Slingsby.[11]

One specific asset the Japanese pharmaceutical industry contributes is access to its vast library of chemical compounds coming out of prior drug research; the Fund's partner companies have agreed to open up these compound libraries to research with the Drugs for Neglected Disease Initiative, joining UK-based AstraZeneca in the effort.[12] "Another key opportunity the GHIT Fund has created has been to help open the doors of Japan’s public and private drug compound libraries to product development partnerships, which makes possible the screening of tens of thousands of drug candidates for potential new treatments."[13]

The participating companies view their investments into neglected diseases through the Fund as a long-term investment into the future, rather than charity. They see the Fund as a necessary catalyst for having allowed them to pursue this line of research.[14]

Investment Activity

As of June 2016 GHIT has invested upwards of $60 million into more than 64 global product development partnerships that leverage Japanese innovation and capacities in pharmaceuticals.[15] Six of the GHIT portfolio’s 23 novel screening programs are advancing into next stage of development, with two candidates successfully achieving first-in-human trials; seven clinical trials for novel candidates under way in high-burden countries; and an innovative antimalarial drug achieving Proof of Concept (Phase II).[16]

The GHIT Fund invests in R&D partnerships among Japanese pharmaceutical companies and research institutes and universities with non-Japanese research institutes and universities.[17] This gives researchers around the world access to Japanese expertise and investment.[18] The Fund deliberately refers to grants as "investments" and grantees as "development partners."

Grant investments go to R&D projects that aim to develop new health technologies for infectious diseases. Diseases targeted by the Fund include malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases.[19] The Fund also works with established product development partnerships such as the Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Drug Development (TB Alliance), Medicines for Malaria Venture, and Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative to screen the large quantity of potential drug candidates residing in private and public sector chemical compound libraries in Japan.[20]

In February 2015, GHIT launched its Target Research Platform in Partnership with Grand Challenges in Global Health, which invests up to ¥100 million (US$1 million) for early stage development and approximately ¥200 million (US$2 million) in Grand Challenges grant investments per year. These projects then graduates into GHIT’s regular investment program which invests in a pipeline of new tools for neglected diseases.[21]

The GHIT Fund's full investment portfolio, with detailed background on specific development partnerships, is on its website.[22]

Impact

Products resulting from research must be appropriate, effective, affordable, and accessible for the poorest of the poor.[23] In fact, all grant investment proposals must prioritize open innovation[24] and guarantee that products will be developed on a "no gain, no loss" basis,[25] meaning in the poorest countries drugs will be licensed without royalties, while in others, they will be licensed at cost.[26]

According to its own website, GHIT tracks the impact of its investments using quantitative indicators that are standard in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries (namely, product development milestones achieved, Stage-Gates graduated, and number of indications undergoing R&D), as well case studies on socioeconomic impact. More information on impact can be found on GHIT's website.[27]

Mission

In their own words, the vision of the founders of the GHIT Fund is “one in which the crushing burden of infectious disease no longer prevents billions of people in the developing world from seeking the level of prosperity and longevity now common in the industrialized world”.[28]

The Fund’s stated mission is to “to facilitate international partnerships that enable Japanese technology, innovations, and insights to play a more direct role in reducing disparities in health between the rich and the poor of the world.”[29]

Leadership and Governance

GHIT is governed and managed by an international Board; Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa[30] is Chair of the Board and Dr. BT Slingsby is the founding CEO and Executive Director.[31]

GHIT's website explains how the Fund ensures impartiality in its funding activities. Its Selection Committee is free of large pharma representatives to avoid conflicts of interest between the Fund's financial backers and development partners.[32] GHIT funding need not go to the same private companies represented on its "Council" but rather may be directed to a development partnership with any institution in Japan.[33]

Funding from Partners

The original partners to the Fund initially committed over US$100 million over 5 years. Half came from the two Japanese ministries, and the other half comes from Japanese pharma Astellas, Chugai, Eisai, Daiichi Sankyo, Shionogi, and Takeda together with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[34][35][36]

New partners Sysmex and the Wellcome Trust joined in summer 2015. The Wellcome Trust alone brought in an additional approximately US$4.6 million through January 2017 [37]

Three additional companies (All Nippon Airways, law firm Morrison Foerster LLP, and Yahoo!Japan) joined the Fund as sponsors in the summer of 2015 to provide in-kind services in support of the Fund’s work. Yahoo!Japan has co-launched a special joint website with the Fund: “Save millions of lives from infectious diseases”.[38]

In May 2016 the Government of Japan announced as part of a G7 Summit communique that it will make a US$130 million contribution to the GHIT Fund/UNDP replenishment. In June 2016 ten companies joined GHIT, including a full funding partnership with FUJIFILM Corporation, an associate partnership with Otsuka Pharmaceutical, affiliate partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Merck, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Nipro Corporation, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, and a sponsorship from Salesforce.com.[39]

References

  1. ↑ “Japan in pioneering partnership to fund global health research”, by Andrew Jack, Financial Times, May 30, 2013
  2. ↑ “Japanese Global Health Fund Welcomes the Wellcome Trust and Sysmex Corporation as New Funders and ANA, Morrison & Foerster, and Yahoo! Japan as New Sponsors”, PR Newswire, June 3, 2015, (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/japanese-global-health-fund-welcomes-the-wellcome-trust-and-sysmex-corporation-as-new-funders-and-ana-morrison--foerster-and-yahoo-japan-as-new-sponsors-300093066.html), accessed on 9/28/2015
  3. ↑ "2030 CREATING FUTURE: Japan can lead the world in ending infectious diseases," May 9, 2016, The Asahi Shimbun, (http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201605090001.html)
  4. ↑ See WHO's video featuring Margeret Chan, WHO Director-General, here: https://ghitfund.org/general/eventreport2015
  5. ↑ “The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund: financing medical innovations for neglected populations”, by BT Slingsby and Kiyoshi Kurokawa, The Lancet: Global Health, October 2013, Volume 1, pp.e184-185 (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(13)70055-X/fulltext)
  6. ↑ “Investing In Drugs That Won't Make Money”, Forbes, April 30, 2015, (http://www.forbes.com/sites/medidata/2015/04/30/investing-in-drugs-that-wont-make-money/), accessed on 9/28/2015
  7. ↑ “The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund: financing medical innovations for neglected populations”, by BT Slingsby and Kiyoshi Kurokawa, The Lancet: Global Health, October 2013, Volume 1, pp.e184-185 (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(13)70055-X/fulltext)
  8. ↑ “Japan and Partners Team Up to Tackle Neglected Diseases”, by Dina Fine Maron, Scientific American, November 8, 2013 (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=japan-and-partners-team)
  9. ↑ “Joining the Fight Against Neglected Diseases”, Science magazine, June 7, 2013, Volume 340, p.1148
  10. ↑ "Japan To Contribute US$130 Million Replenishment To GHIT Fund," Asian Scientist,May 23, 2016 (http://www.asianscientist.com/2016/05/pharma/japan-us130-million-ghit-fund/)
  11. ↑ “Investing In Drugs That Won't Make Money”, Forbes, April 30, 2015, (http://www.forbes.com/sites/medidata/2015/04/30/investing-in-drugs-that-wont-make-money/), accessed on 9/28/2015
  12. ↑ “Japanese Companies Attack Neglected Diseases”, by Donald G. McNeill Jr., New York Times, June 1, 2015, (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/health/japanese-companies-attack-neglected-diseases.html?_r=0) , accessed on 09/18/2015
  13. ↑ “The Value of Product Development Partnerships”, The National Bureau of Asian Research, August 11, 2014 (http://nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=477)
  14. ↑ “Japanese drugmakers addressing neglected tropical diseases, and not just out of altruism”, Japan Times, January 6, 2015, (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/06/national/science-health/japanese-drugmakers-addressing-neglected-tropical-diseases-and-not-just-out-of-altruism?utm_campaign=KFF%3A+Global+Health+Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15472323&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--eDo7Aql3yZTIYzqLd8ch1nlYuggQTgOmjz3-32M9gn3IulHDQnVAXK4sEdynfIurWMlME9f6XH2GM2yYZ01Wl9LtgANF7bQ7IlKTqV50R7P0ngro&_hsmi=15472323#.Vgm81SvSta-), accessed on 9/28/2015
  15. ↑ GHIT 2016 Annual Partners Meeting Event Report (https://ghitfund.org/assets/othermedia/2016_eventreport_en.pdf)
  16. ↑ "A long-duration dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitor (DSM265) for prevention and treatment of malaria," Science Translational Medicine, July 2015, Vol. 7, Issue 296, pp. 296ra111, (http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/7/296/296ra111)
  17. ↑ “Give and It Shall Be Given unto You”, The Economist, November 16–22, 2013, p.72
  18. ↑ “An Audience with … Tachi Yamada”, by Asher Mullard, Nature magazine, September 2013, Volume 12, p.658
  19. ↑ “Japan in pioneering partnership to fund global health research”, by Andrew Jack, Financial Times, May 30, 2013
  20. ↑ “Joining the Fight Against Neglected Diseases”, Science magazine, June 7, 2013, Volume 340, p.1148
  21. ↑ "GHIT Funds Grand Challenges", Asian Scientist Magazine, February 9, 2015 (http://www.asianscientist.com/2015/02/topnews/ghit-funds-grand-challenges/), accessed on 10/20/2015
  22. ↑ https://ghitfund.org/impact/portfolio
  23. ↑ “The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund: financing medical innovations for neglected populations”, by BT Slingsby and Kiyoshi Kurokawa, The Lancet: Global Health, October 2013, Volume 1, pp.e184-185 (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(13)70055-X/fulltext)
  24. ↑ Open innovation
  25. ↑ “Japan in pioneering partnership to fund global health research”, by Andrew Jack, Financial Times, May 30, 2013
  26. ↑ “Give and It Shall Be Given unto You”, The Economist, November 16–22, 2013, p.72
  27. ↑ https://www.ghitfund.org/impact/impact/en
  28. ↑ GHIT Fund website: About the GHIT Fund (www.ghitfund.org/about/orgnization/mission), accessed on 09/30/2014
  29. ↑ GHIT Fund website: About the GHIT Fund (www.ghitfund.org/about/orgnization/mission), accessed on 09/30/2014
  30. ↑ ja:黒川清
  31. ↑ https://www.ghitfund.org/about/governance/leadership
  32. ↑ https://www.ghitfund.org/about/governance/committee
  33. ↑ https://www.ghitfund.org/about/governance/council
  34. ↑ “Japan in pioneering partnership to fund global health research”, by Andrew Jack, Financial Times, May 30, 2013
  35. ↑ “An Audience with … Tachi Yamada”, by Asher Mullard, Nature magazine, September 2013, Volume 12, p.658
  36. ↑ "Japanese drugmakers get serious about tackling dengue", by Daisaku Yamasaki and Sadachika Watanabe, NIKKEI Asian Review, 09/16/2014 (http://asia.nikkei.com/Tech-Science/Science/Japanese-drugmakers-get-serious-about-tackling-dengue), accessed on 09/30/2014
  37. ↑ “Japanese Global Health Fund Welcomes the Wellcome Trust and Sysmex Corporation as New Funders and ANA, Morrison & Foerster, and Yahoo! Japan as New Sponsors”, PR Newswire, June 3, 2015, (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/japanese-global-health-fund-welcomes-the-wellcome-trust-and-sysmex-corporation-as-new-funders-and-ana-morrison--foerster-and-yahoo-japan-as-new-sponsors-300093066.html), accessed on 9/28/2015
  38. ↑ “Japanese Global Health Fund Welcomes the Wellcome Trust and Sysmex Corporation as New Funders and ANA, Morrison & Foerster, and Yahoo! Japan as New Sponsors”, PR Newswire, June 3, 2015, (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/japanese-global-health-fund-welcomes-the-wellcome-trust-and-sysmex-corporation-as-new-funders-and-ana-morrison--foerster-and-yahoo-japan-as-new-sponsors-300093066.html), accessed on 9/28/2015
  39. ↑ "GHIT Fund Welcomes Ten New Partnerships With FUJIFILM, Otsuka, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Merck, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Nipro, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma And Salesforce.com," The Street, June 5, 2016 (https://www.thestreet.com/story/13596511/3/ghit-fund-welcomes-ten-new-partnerships-with-fujifilm-otsuka-gsk-johnson-johnson-kyowa-hakko-kirin-merck-mitsubishi-tanabe-nipro-sumitomo-dainippon-pharma-and-salesforcecom.html)

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