Japan pledges $200 million GHIT Fund's third phase of operations

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced the government of Japan's pledge to contribute $200 million to the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund).

This fund is an international public-private partnership between the Japanese government, seven Japanese pharma and diagnostics firms comprising of Astellas (TYO: 4503), Chugai, Eisai (TYO: 4523), Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568), Shionogi (TYO: 4507), Sysmex (TYO: 6869) and Takeda (TYO: 4502), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and the United Nations Development Program.

Japan’s latest pledge, announced at the G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023, supports the GHIT Fund’s third phase of operations, including investments in research and development of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, using the country’s innovation and expertise to prevent and address infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, which are highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries.