Grand Challenges — Ultralow-Cost Diagnostics and Screening for Low-Income Countries

Grand Challenges — Placental and Gut Inflammation Interventions for Fetal Growth

Funds global teams developing drug, biologic, dietary, or microbiome-based interventions that target placental and gut inflammatory pathways to improve fetal growth outcomes in low-income countries.

Eligibility · Open globally; global south collaboration strongly encouraged

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

This Grand Challenge is run by the Gates Foundation under its Grand Challenges program. It funds interventions targeting the maternal gut-placenta inflammatory axis — a potential driver of fetal growth restriction (FGR) — which affects an estimated 23.4 million infants born growth-restricted each year, with 60–70% of cases in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Three funding tracks cover the full innovation pipeline from target discovery through early clinical proof-of-concept.

Track 1 (Mechanism and Target Discovery): up to $400,000 for up to 18 months. Validates inflammatory/oxidative stress pathways in placental or maternal gut biology and nominates actionable intervention targets. Track 2 (Candidate Validation and Translational Advancement): up to $750,000 for up to 24 months. Supports rigorous preclinical and translational validation of a named intervention candidate. Track 3 (Early Clinical Proof-of-Concept): up to $1,000,000 for up to 30 months. Funds small early human studies demonstrating biological activity, safety, and feasibility.

For-profit companies, nonprofits, academic institutions, research institutes, international organizations, and consortia worldwide are eligible. No citizenship, company-age, or revenue restrictions are stated. Collaboration with global south institutions is strongly encouraged. All applicants must comply with the Gates Foundation's global access requirements. Individuals classified as individuals for U.S. tax purposes are not eligible.

Applications are submitted through the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges portal. The 2026 cycle opened March 17 and closed April 28, 2026; decisions expected by end of August 2026. Proposals must begin from a plausible mechanistic hypothesis, include quantitative go/no-go milestones, and specify how findings will inform future development pathways.

Exclusions: purely observational studies without an intervention component; interventions requiring highly specialized infrastructure unlikely to be scalable in the global south; nutritional interventions not directly addressing inflammatory or oxidative stress mechanisms; antibiotics that risk antimicrobial resistance; drugs with known pregnancy contraindications.