Gates Foundation: Accelerating Innovation in Vaginal Formulations to Support Women’s Health

Funding

Two black women standing next to each other smiling, one with a teal tshirt and the other with a pink tank top Gates Foundation
opportunities DUE Dec 16, 2025

Due date: December 16, 2025 (17:00 East Africa Time)

Timeline: Notification in May 2026, estimated start September 2026, project duration of up to 2 years

Award Amount: Up to $250,000 USD

Description: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has launched a new Grand Challenges call for proposals seeking bold, high-quality research ideas to advance vaginal drug delivery technologies that improve women’s health globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Despite the potential benefits of vaginal drug delivery—such as discreet use, potent local efficacy, fewer systemic side effects, and enhanced autonomy—this area remains underexplored. The challenge aims to inspire innovations that leverage the biology of the vaginal microenvironment and integrate user preferences to create safe, effective, and appealing products.

Applicants are encouraged to:

  • Develop novel formulations or improve existing ones (e.g., films, tablets, inserts) that support vaginal health and scalable, low-cost manufacturing
  • Leverage vaginal biology—including mucus, host cells, and microbiome—to optimize drug delivery
  • Define user-driven product characteristics through qualitative research to ensure acceptability and desirability among women, especially in LMICs

Applications should not include:

  • Evaluate the impact of currently available vaginally inserted products on the vaginal milieu (e.g. menstrual products, contraceptive devices, over-the-counter probiotics, etc.)
  • Focus on the development of therapeutics or interventions for specific conditions, such as treatment for STIs or contraceptive products. While these types of interventions may be used as a test case within the proposal, the work itself should focus on formulations.

This opportunity is open to research institutes, nonprofits, for-profits, academic institutions, and international organizations. Collaboration with women-led and LMIC-based organizations is strongly encouraged.

For full details and application instructions, visit the Grand Challenges page.