Mastercard Establishes Fund for COVID-19 Treatment Development

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Join Forces
to Form COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Mastercard announced on the 12th that it has established a fund of $125 million (approximately 150 billion KRW) in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK charity Wellcome to support the development and mass production of treatments for COVID-19.

The 'COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator,' formed by these organizations to promote the development of treatments, will play a role in accelerating and evaluating the development of new-use drugs for immediate treatment of COVID-19 patients and long-term care of patients infected with other viral pathogens.

To support the initial research and development activities of the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome each contributed $50 million, and Mastercard's Impact Fund donated $25 million.

The Accelerator plans to collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO), governments of various countries, private funders and organizations, as well as regulatory and policy-making bodies worldwide. It will focus its efforts on the entire process from treatment development to manufacturing and mass production. Additionally, it intends to accelerate research by sharing results and coordinating investment priorities.

Mike Froman, Vice Chairman of Mastercard, said, "Mastercard understands well how important it is to build a network of multiple stakeholders who provide not just capital but complementary assets and technologies through our experience in financial inclusion," adding, "We look forward to other partners interested in inclusive growth joining these efforts."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.