Millions in new grants for TB research

Millions of dollars have been donated to the fight against tuberculosis (TB) by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The foundation announced yesterday (September 18th) that it would be giving 11 new grants, totalling $280 million, to fund the research and development of vaccines for the infectious disease.

Focusing on three key areas, $200 million will be spread over five years for vaccine development, $62 million over the same period will go towards developing simpler tests for TB, while $18 million has been designated to find treatments to combat drug resistance .

"TB science has advanced significantly over the past five years, and these grants build on this momentum and the progress that has been made," said Dr Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation's Global Health Program.

"By bringing together a wide range of partners, including scientists from countries heavily affected by TB, we hope to help translate promising ideas into tools that can save millions of lives."

According to the World Health Organization, one-third of the world's population is currently infected with TB and it is responsible for one in four preventable adult deaths.