Bill Gates Talks Gene Drives, mRNA, and U.S.$40m in Science Funding

In 2003, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Grand Challenges initiative in order to find scientific solutions to these health challenges. Initially, the initiative focused on 14 scientific challenges including focusing on creating effective single-dose vaccines that can be used soon after birth, discovering drugs and delivery systems that minimise the likelihood of drug-resistant micro-organisms, creating therapies that can cure latent infection, and developing needle-free delivery systems. “We started Grand Challenges with two goals. In a narrow sense, we wanted to spur specific advances we thought could lead to breakthroughs. In 2003, we listed … priorities like creating therapies that could cure latent TB infection – and supported researchers who had exciting ideas in those areas. In a broader sense, we hoped to inspire more brilliant scientists to share big ideas about transforming health in low-income countries. We hoped to create a scientific community that was supported to sustain R&D (Research and Development) for the benefit of billions of people who had been neglected,” said co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates during his opening remarks at the Grand Challenges meeting held in Dakar, Senegal.

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