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Article

24 Mar 2020

Author:
MasterCard

MasterCard, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation & Wellcome launch initiative to spread development & access COVID-19 therapies

“Press Releases: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard launch initiative to speed development and access to therapies for COVID-19”, 10 March 2020

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard…committed up to $125 million in seed funding to speed-up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic by identifying, assessing, developing, and scaling-up treatments. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will…work with the [WHO], government and private sector funders and organizations, as well as the global regulatory and policy-setting institutions.

By providing fast and flexible funding at key stages of the development process, the Accelerator will de-risk the pathway for new drugs and biologics for COVID-19 and future epidemic threats, ensuring access in lower-resource countries. Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome said, “This virus is an unprecedented global threat, and one for which we must propel international partnerships to develop treatments, rapid diagnostics, and vaccines…”. The expertise of pharmaceutical companies will be critical in identifying, researching, and commercializing successful drugs.

[MasterCard Vice-Chairman Mike Froman]…said, “Our experience with financial inclusion shows us the importance of building a network of parties who bring not only their capital, but complementary assets and skill sets to the table, and we welcome other partners concerned about inclusive growth to join this effort”, said.