The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and JPMorgan Chase have announced the creation of an investment fund that will enable individual and institutional investors to finance late-stage global health technologies with the potential to save millions of lives in low-income countries.

With $94 million committed by a group of investors — including anchor support from Grand Challenges Canada (which is funded by the Canadian government), the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (acting through the government-owned KfW bank), and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation — the Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF) will act to advance promising interventions for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and maternal and infant mortality in low-income countries. In addition to Gates and JPMorgan Chase, the fund's initial investor group includes the International Finance Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, the Pfizer Foundation, and Storebrand, as well as a number of individuals and family offices.

According to the partners, private sector financing for global health research and development is more important than ever. Philanthropy, government funding, and pharmaceutical industry support have built a remarkable pipeline of global health innovations — with as many as two hundred products under development — but late-stage clinical trials are costly and development costs are outpacing charitable support.

"This innovative fund is mobilizing financing for medical advances that could potentially save millions of lives," said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim. "It shows that we can align the needs of investors with the need for cures for diseases which cause so much suffering in developing countries."