Recent news
October 2011
New partnership to support innovative research and development
October 28, 2011 -- The Chinese Government’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new partnership to focus on innovative research and support the manufacturing of new global health products. The partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to announce the collaboration and affirm their commitment to addressing the Millennium Development Goals.
One of the main objectives of the MOU is to support R&D needed for new global health products. Vaccines and diagnostics for diseases like tuberculosis (TB) are high on the list of innovations on which the partnership is expected to focus. Additionally, the partnership will focus on cost-effective manufacturing of health products and developing the information technology that rural areas need to support health applications.
This announcement comes the week before Bill Gates is scheduled to address the G20 Summit about his report on the innovations and partnerships in global health and agriculture and how they can positively impact global stability and economic growth. He is expected to discuss the critical role that countries like China can play by offering their technical expertise and resources, like China’s success in discovering artemisinin, a critical component in malaria treatments.
“China’s support to bring its power and capacity to bear on global health and agriculture research and production comes at a critical time in our world economic situation,” Gates said.
