The Novo Nordisk Foundation, Wellcome and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced a new joint partnership to support critical scientific research and development (R&D) for global health.
The partnership aims to support science and innovation to advance accessible and affordable solutions for people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The three-year initiative supporting science to tackle a series of global health challenges was announced at the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Global Science Summit in Denmark, which received over $300m in total from the participating organisations.
The funding will be used to support solutions to address the health impacts of climate change, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), as well as greater understandings of the interactions between nutrition, immunity, disease and developmental outcomes.
Designated as one of the top ten global public health threats facing humanity by the World Health Organization, AMR occurs when bacteria, fungi and parasites change and adapt to antibiotics over time.
The three key areas of the joint collaboration include climate and sustainability, to better protect people globally from the health impacts of climate change, infectious diseases, which include addressing AMR and developing vaccines for respiratory infections and lastly, interactions to understand the interplay between nutrition, immunity, infectious diseases, cardiometabolic and other noncommunicable diseases and developmental outcomes.
“By pooling the vast experience and unique expertise of each organisation – across research, technology, innovation and enterprise – we can make advances that wouldn’t otherwise be possible,” said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, chief executive officer, Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Funding will also be used to support researchers and institutions based in LMICs, including resources to advance locally relevant research agendas, strengthen R&D capabilities and provide scalable access to existing tools and technologies.
“We face huge challenges to protecting and improving physical and mental health, compounded by vast inequities globally,” and “we need global collaboration and cooperation more than ever to build healthier futures,… for society to thrive,” said John-Arne Røttingen, chief executive officer, Wellcome.
“Every sector has a critical role to play” and “with the right support, these innovations will save and improve lives around the world,” commented Mark Suzman, chief executive officer, the Gates Foundation.