Singapore, March 19 -- Japan's Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund has announced a total investment of approximatelyJPY 1.7 billion($11.4 million) in five projects for the development of schistosomiasis diagnostics and drugs for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The GHIT Fund has decided to invest approximatelyJPY 780 million($5.2 million) in two projects to develop new diagnostics for schistosomiasis led by Drugs & Diagnostics for Tropical Diseases, a nonprofit organization based inSan Diego, California, US, in collaboration with Medical & Biological Laboratories Co., a Japanese manufacturer of clinical diagnostic kits and reagents, Nagasaki University Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, a...