Developing a New Strategy to Promote Global Health Security
Colorized scanning electronic micrograph of a cell (blue) infected with novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (green), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility. (Photo credit: NIAID)
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of filamentous Ebola virus particles budding from a chronically infected cell. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility. (Photo credit: NIAID)
Sarah Ewart earlier consulted for the Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC) to advance key strategy, operations, and marketing and communications for the organization during a time of significant growth and transition. GHIC is a non-profit organization that invests in life sciences and healthcare technology companies to accelerate development and improve access to products with the potential to improve global health equity and generate sustainable financial returns.
Approximately one year after the start of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the GHIC signed an agreement with the Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, at the US Department of Health and Human Services to use venture capital practices to accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies that respond to or prevent public health emergencies, such as pandemics and other health security threats. With this agreement, the GHIC committed to expand its mission from an exclusive focus on infectious diseases and maternal and child health to include global health security, adding a new impact investment fund to its portfolio.
At the time, GHIC hired Sarah to advise senior leadership and to drive the strategic and operational activities required to support the growth that would be necessary to achieve this significant expansion. Sarah collaborated with the CEO and Managing Partner to develop a new global health security impact investment strategy to support GHIC’s new partnership with BARDA. In addition, Sarah contributed to the development of strategic operations, policy, and marketing and communications materials and subsequently supported the public launch of the new partnership.
Sarah’s consultancy with GHIC was a full-circle moment. A decade earlier, she was a core member of the original Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation team that structured and marketed the Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF), the $108 million namesake inaugural fund of the GHIC. As the first of its kind, GHIF more than proved the model. While generating meaningful returns to its investors, GHIF’s technologies have reached over 100 million people. Its portfolio companies have successfully commercialized more than one dozen health products – including vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and devices – targeting infectious diseases and other health challenges that disproportionately burden low- and middle-income countries.
With the expansion of its portfolio to include investments that address pandemics and other public health emergencies, GHIC is building on its success with its first fund and already well on its way, through its partnership with BARDA and other investors, to demonstrating that venture capital investments can play an important role in promoting global health security.