GHIT Fund Announces New Investment: 97.4 Million Yen to Identify Novel Dual-Acting Bactericidal Drug Targets Against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
TOKYO, July 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced today a total of approximately 97.4 million yen (US$0.88 million*) to invest in a drug discovery project for tuberculosis (TB),** which will be conducted by an academic partnership comprised of highly skilled experts in bacterial genetics, bacterial physiology, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences in Japan and the United States.
This new project of the GHIT Target Research Platform aims to identify novel targets for TB drugs that can rapidly and strongly kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) through two independent antimicrobial mechanisms (i.e., "dual-acting"). The consortium has already identified such dual-acting candidate genes and will characterize the candidate genes in vitro and in vivo by utilizing a newly developed gene silencing technology for Mtb: the mycobacterial CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system. At the completion of the project, they expect to identify promising drug target genes to move onto the next stage of drug development. (Appendix 1 & 2)
As of July 15, there are 57 ongoing projects, including 25 discovery, 23 preclinical and nine clinical trials, in the GHIT portfolio. The total amount of investments since 2013 is 26.1 billion yen (US$236 million). (Appendix 3)
* USD1 = JPY110.61, the approximate exchange rate on June 30, 2021.
** This awarded project was selected from a number of proposals to the RFP2020-002 for Target Research Platform, which was open for applications from June 2020 to January 2021. The GHIT board conducted in February 2021 approved this new investment.
The GHIT Fund is a Japan-based international public-private partnership fund (PPP) between the Government of Japan, multiple pharmaceutical companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The GHIT Fund invests and manages an R&D portfolio of development partnerships aimed at neglected diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases that afflict the world's vulnerable and underserved populations. The GHIT Fund mobilizes the Japanese industry, academia, and research institutes to create new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases, in collaboration with global partners.
Appendix.1 New Investments
ID/Status |
Project Title |
Collaboration Partners |
Disease/Intervention |
Stage |
Awarded Amount |
T2020-253 New project |
Identification of novel dual-acting bactericidal drug targets against Mycobacterium tuberculosis |
Fujita Health University, Hokkaido University, Nagoya University, Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Harvard University, University of Minnesota |
Tuberculosis Drug |
Target Identification |
¥97,461,961 (US$881,132) |
*All amounts are listed at the exchange rate of USD1 = JPY110.61, the approximate exchange rate on June 30, 2021.
Appendix.2 Project Details
T2020-253
Project Title |
Identification of novel dual-acting bactericidal drug targets against Mycobacterium tuberculosis |
Collaboration Partners |
Fujita Health University, Hokkaido University, Nagoya University, Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Harvard University, University of Minnesota |
Disease |
Tuberculosis |
Intervention |
Drug |
Stage |
Target Identification |
Awarded Amount |
¥97,461,961 (US$881,132) |
Status |
New project |
Summary |
[Project objective] This project aims to identify novel targets for TB drugs that can rapidly and strongly kill Mtb through two independent antimicrobial mechanisms (dual-acting). We have already identified such dual-acting candidate genes. In this project, we will characterize our candidate genes in vitro and in vivo to prioritize them within our discovery pipeline.
[Project design] We will utilize a newly developed gene silencing technology for Mtb, the mycobacterial CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system, to characterize our candidate genes in vitro and in vivo. Once we genetically validate our candidate genes, we will perform small-scale screenings using our in-house unique small molecule library (the ITbM chemical library). We will employ our unique whole cell target assays to identify small molecules that kill Mtb due to inhibition of one of our genetically validated targets. The identified hit compounds will be clustered by structural similarity and representative molecules of each cluster will be derivatized. These compounds will be used as probe compounds to perform chemical validation of the genetically validated targets. |
Project Detail |
https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/188/en |
*All amounts are listed at the exchange rate of USD1 = JPY110.61, the approximate exchange rate on June 30, 2021.
Appendix.3 Investment Overview (As of July 15, 2021)
1. Investment to date
Total investments 26.1 billion yen (US$236 million*)
Total invested Projects 106 (active projects 57, completed projects 49)
2. Portfolio analysis (active projects + completed projects)
To know more about GHIT investments, please visit
Investment Overview: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/overview/en
Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfolio/en
Advancing Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/advancingportfolio/en
Clinical Candidates: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/clinicalcandidates/en
For more information, contact:
Katy Lenard at +1-301-280-5719 or [email protected]
Bumpei Tamamura at +81-36441-2032 or [email protected]
SOURCE GHIT Fund
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