About

Bill Gates and Jamie Dimon at an eventcelebrating the launch of GHIF in 2013

Our History: A Marriage of Social and Commercial Objectives

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and J.P. Morgan created the Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF) in 2012. These organizations sought to test the idea of building an impact investment portfolio from the most promising drug, vaccine, diagnostic, and medical device technologies that address high-burden public health challenges, neglected infectious diseases, and maternal/infant mortality. An emerging track record of success suggests it is possible to have one’s cake and eat it too, as GHIF-backed technologies are increasingly being commercialized at scale and improving public health in historically overlooked markets.

Adjuvant was formed by veterans of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and GHIF as an independent asset management firm designed to scale-up the public health investment model pioneered by this earlier work.

Interior of a relatively full Indonesian subway or train car.

The Adjuvant Investment Strategy

Adjuvant’s strategy aims to drive meaningful improvements in the public health of low- and middle-income countries while pursuing top-tier financial returns. Adjuvant’s focus areas include:

Neglected, high-burden, and emerging infectious diseases, including antimicrobial resistance and pandemic threats
Maternal, newborn, and child health challenges
Reproductive and sexual health
Nutrition

Adjuvant directs the majority of its investment activity to opportunities that have human efficacy signals from a phase II-or-later clinical trial or similar arm’s-length evaluations. We look for compelling proof-of-concept data to support our investment decisions.

Investment Opportunities Hiding in Plain Sight

Adjuvant seeks out public health challenges where the burden is highest and the need is greatest

Post-Partum Hemorrhage (PPH)

Post-partum bleeding is a life-threatening condition that does not discriminate on the basis of geography or socio-economic status--mothers in every country are at risk, and PPH is one of the most common and most deadly complications of childbirth. New, improved, and more widely-available interventions would prevent millions of children from losing their mother after birth.

Pandemic Threats

As H1N1, MERS, and COVID-19 have shown us, the global population is at constant risk of a pandemic from an emerging pathogen. Investing in new tools for surveillance and rapid response technologies has the potential to pay enormous public health and economic dividends in the future.

Anti-Microbial Resistance

Increasing prevalence of treatment-resistant bacteria is emerging as one of the most concerning public health threats in developed and developing countries alike. New diagnostics to identify the appropriate treatment for these pathogens and novel therapies will be essential to combat drug-resistant "superbugs" in the future.

Mosquito-Borne Diseases

The humble mosquito may be mankind's greatest enemy, responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of illnesses each year thanks to the viruses and parasites that can be transmitted with their bites. Vector-control tools, vaccines, and new treatments are all needed to combat the public health threat posed by these tiny insects.

Soil-Transmitted Helminths

As many as a billion people are at perpetual risk of recurrent infection from soil-transmitted helminths such as hookworm, whipworm, and roundworm. New tools to screen, treat, and/or vaccinate against these infections would benefit hundreds of millions around the world--predominantly children.