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Tuesday, 28 June 2005 12:00

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Gates to fund world disease fight

Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of software giant Microsoft, is today expected to award some the largest individual research grants in history to scientists working on cures for a range of diseases.

Mr Gates will donate £240m to 43 projects, with the largest grant of £11m going to a team from Imperial College London researching therapies for tuberculosis. Another London project looking into Aids vaccines is set to receive £10.7m.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is providing the grants as part of its Grand Challenges in Global Health project to tackle disease through prevention, treatment and cure.

One of the projects set to benefit is attempting to use genetic modification to provide better nutrition in the world’s poorest countries. Another is exploring ways to preserve vaccines in harmless bacteria so that they need not be refrigerated, with others designing sprays and powders to replace injections.

Mr Gates said: “It is shocking how little research is directed towards the diseases of the world’s poorest countries. By harnessing the world’s capacity for scientific innovation, I believe we can transform health in the developing world and transform millions of lives.”

Richard Klausner, Gates’ chief science expert, selected the 43 projects from more than 1,500 applications and said that he hoped the opportunities would create excitement and momentum in the scientific field.

“In terms of engaging directly with laboratories run by scientists, these are the largest grants we have made,” Dr Klausner said.

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