LifeArc fund to accelerate the development of therapies and diagnostics for infectious diseases impacting low and middle income countries

As part of the LifeArc partnership with LSTM and the LSTM led iiCON Consortium, £2.7M was made available to help develop technologies that have the potential to impact the lives of people in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) who are impacted by infectious diseases. These include neglected tropical diseases and viral threats, such as Dengue and other flaviviruses.

The Translational Development Fund offered grant funding to investigators at LSTM and iiCON’s partner organisations to develop therapies and diagnostic tests for infectious diseases principally impacting LMICs.

Awards supported early-stage, translational research projects and enabled LSTM and iiCON investigators to work in collaboration with researchers based at institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Communicable diseases cause over eight million deaths each year and significantly impact the lives of many more.

There is a disproportionate impact on people in LMICs, with the burden being almost twenty times higher compared to high income countries.

The impact of infectious diseases is projected to escalate due to factors such as climate change, migration and intensive farming.

In April 2024, LifeArc awarded 3 grants (subject to contracting) to support the development of the following technologies:

• Repurposing a registered antibiotic for the treatment of onchocerciasis – project led by Professor Joseph Turner, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK

• Development of a diagnostic test for viral haemorrhagic fevers – project led by Dr Ana Isabel Cubas Atienzar, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK

• A dried spot collection kit for the transportation of patient samples and the diagnosis of central nervous system infections – project led by Dr Brenda Kwambana-Adams, Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Programme, Malawi