Grand Challenges from the Gates Foundation

The Gates Foundation has announced two new Grand Challenges requests for applications:

Accelerating Development of Innovative, Exceptionally Low-Cost Maternal and Child Nutrient Ingredients and Products

• This award will fund transformative, bold solutions that can reduce costs of key maternal and child nutrient ingredients and products by at least 50% compared to current baselines, while maintaining or improving safety, efficacy, and user acceptability. To support the development and validation of scalable, sustainable strategies that make high-quality nutrient ingredients and products affordable for LMIC health systems and ensure equitable access for every mother and child. Applicants may propose projects under one of the following options:
  • Option A: Development of exceptionally low-cost nutrient ingredients (calcium, choline, and/or DHA). ≥50% cost reduction vs current lowest prices; pharmaceutical quality; stable, allergen-free, culturally inclusive. 
    • Funding: up to $500,000 per ingredient; up to 18 months.
  • Option B: Development of a low-cost prenatal supplement (UNIMMAP MMS + 500 mg/day calcium). Less than US$2 per 180-day regimen; consumer informed; 6-month accelerated stability in Zone IVb. 
    • Funding: Up to $200,000; up to 12 months.
  • Option C: Development of an advanced prenatal supplement (MMSplus: UNIMMAP MMS + 500 mg/day calcium + 100 mg/day nicotinamide + 450 mg/day choline + 200 mg/day DHA). Consumer informed; 6-month accelerated stability in Zone IVb. 
    • Funding: up to $400,000; up to 12 months. 
• For more information and to review complete application instructions and eligibility requirements, please visit https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/accelerating-development-innovative-exceptionally-low-cost-maternal-and-child-nutrient. 
• This award will fund research that contributes to development of vaginal formulations that promote optimal drug delivery within the vaginal compartment while positively supporting the vaginal milieu, and that also possess beneficial effects, even if unrelated to the API intended effect, that a user might consider desirable, such as enhancement of sexual pleasure. The Gates Foundation anticipate identifying product-agnostic features that promote vaginal health and that broadly appeal to women to advance product development and formulations for women's health. Innovations at any stage of development are welcome. Applicants may apply to address one or more of the following objectives of this challenge:
  • Leverage biology for vaginally administered products
  • Define characteristics of an ideal vaginal product
• Up to $250,000, including up to 15% indirect costs, will be awarded for a project period of up to 2 years. Exploratory projects with shorter durations/lower budgets that focus on high-risk, innovative areas are strongly encouraged and will be given priority.
• For more information and to review complete application instructions and eligibility requirements, please visit https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/accelerating-innovation-vaginal-formulations-support-womens-health-3. 

The Gates Foundation will not fund proposals that rely solely on price negotiation or procurement tactics, offer only stepwise, incremental improvements with minimal cost impact, focus on delivery models without product innovation, or address nutrients or products outside the defined scope.

Accelerating Innovation in Vaginal Formulations in Support of Women's Health

To Apply:

• These are open RFPs (UCSF may submit an unlimited number of applications to each).
• Follow application instructions in RFP, conferring with your Grants Officer as needed. Please notify your Grants Officer of your intention to apply as soon as possible to ensure that they will have enough time to support your application.
• Application deadline for both opportunities is December 16, 2025.