The Gates Foundation announced formation of the Vaccine Discovery Partnership, which it described as “a way for our foundation to work directly with pharmaceutical companies on promising new vaccines for global health.” Gates said GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi are the first two companies involved and said it is “optimistic that other pharmaceutical companies will also join the partnership.” Gates said it will “work with each company individually to identify a promising set of research projects that are aligned with our foundation’s priorities. Projects funded through the Vaccine Discovery Partnership will span the R&D lifecycle – from preclinical to experimental medicine Phase IIa trials.” One of the first projects under the program involves GSK and “focuses on increasing the thermostabilization of new generation vaccines to facilitate delivery of such vaccines in special administration and campaign settings in resource-limited countries. The goal would be to build thermostability into vaccines as an integral  part of new generation vaccine development.” The Foundation noted that “by working together with pharmaceutical companies, these new partnerships will reduce the risks associated with early-stage vaccine research, and increase the likelihood that the most promising new vaccines are developed quickly, and at lower cost. This will be a win for everyone involved but most importantly for the children around the world who will get the life-saving vaccines they need.’

http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2013/10/A-New-Partnership-to-Accelerate-Vaccine-Research-amp-Development