U.K.-based Immunocore Limited has announced a $40 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of developing soluble T-cell receptor-based therapeutics (TCR) for infectious diseases.

The investment will support development of Immunocore's ImmTAV (Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against Virus) and ImmTAB (Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against Bacteria) therapeutics for infectious diseases that pose a global health challenge. The program is designed to discover and develop ImmTAV and ImmTAB molecules for the treatment of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus where the TCR-based therapeutics have the potential to reduce treatment timelines and improve patient outcomes. Immunocore also will continue expanding its platform technology to enable therapeutics with broad coverage of the affected disease population.

"Many infectious diseases continue to represent a huge and growing global challenge," said Immunocore CEO Eliot Forster. "We're delighted and honored that the Bill & and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the most significant forces for positive change in global healthcare, has recognized the potential of Immunocore's platform technology for advancing novel therapeutics for infectious diseases such as TB and HIV."

The investment was made as part of the foundation's program-related investments strategy, which aims to stimulate private sector-driven innovation, encourage market-driven efficiencies, and attract external capital to priority global health and development initiatives that improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people.

"The foundation is committed to supporting and translating scientific research that can have transformative impact on those conditions that cause the greatest burden of morbidity and mortality in the world at large," said Chris Karp, the Gates Foundation's director of discovery and translational sciences. "We are excited to support the development of Immunocore's TCR-based platform because we believe these treatments have the potential to make a fundamental difference in the lives of patients infected with TB and HIV."