• The grant from the Gates Foundationmarks the start of the second phase of dd4gh, which puts advanced AI drug discovery tools into the hands of scientists worldwide

• The partnership will now add advanced capabilities to the AI tool, helping researchers better predict the properties and potential of new medicines

• By supporting better decisions earlier in the drug discovery process, the tool has the potential to help maximise the impact of limited global health R&D resources

Geneva, Switzerland & London, United Kingdom, 9 July 2026: Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and deepmirror have secured a $5 million grant from the Gates Foundation for the continuation of their partnership on Drug Design for Global Health (dd4gh), an AI-powered drug discovery platform. 

The proposed second generation of dd4gh will bring three-dimensional (3D) drug design into the platform, helping scientists to identify promising compounds sooner and deprioritise weaker ones. This phase will also incorporate capabilities to design long-acting injectable medicines, and predict the dose required to meet ideal product profiles. 

Launched earlier this year, dd4gh is an open-access and free-to-use AI tool built to tackle the world’s most pressing global health challenges. dd4gh gives global health researchers access to advanced AI tools for evaluating new molecules with the potential to shorten drug discovery timelines, reduce costs and open new avenues for discovering treatments for diseases that pose significant global health challenges.

The dd4gh tool continues to be available free of charge to eligible researchers working on diseases that primarily affect populations in low- and middle-income countries, such as malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases. 

”Malaria is a highly adaptable parasite, so we need to move faster and smarter to stay ahead of drug resistance. Drug discovery is like finding two puzzle pieces that must fit together in three dimensions. The second generation of dd4gh lets scientists see this fit in detail, helping them predict whether a potential drug is likely to interact effectively with its biological target. This will enable higher-quality predictions and more informed design decisions,” said Dr Paul Willis, Vice President, Drug Discovery and Preclinical Safety, MMV.

“Our aim is to enable global health researchers all over the world to leverage the best possible technology in their work, no matter which country they’re in or what resources their laboratory has,” said Dr Max Jakobs, co-founder and CEO of deepmirror. “This second phase of dd4gh will empower scientists everywhere to accelerate the development of critical treatments that affect communities around the world.”

3D modelling is a major step forward for dd4gh. It supports target-based drug discovery steps, such as identifying binding sites, modelling how a compound docks, and comparing different options to find molecules that are more selective and more likely to work at a low dose. Upgrades also include the addition of synthesis awareness, steering scientists towards compounds that can be made quickly and affordably, and early guidance on factors linked to dose and how long a drug may last in the body. 

MMV’s partners are already seeing the benefits: “Africa is disproportionately affected by many diseases, both infectious and non-infectious. However, African-led solutions for these diseases are limited. As a low-resource institution, dd4gh is already allowing the University of Ghana to make maximum use of our resources. We look forward to continuing our participation in the development of this software to deliver drug discovery solutions to some of Africa’s major health challenges,” said Prof. Richard Amewu, Lead, Drug Innovation Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Ghana

Researchers working on global health challenges can learn more about dd4gh and apply for access at www.dd4gh.ai

About the partners

About deepmirror

deepmirror is building the foundation model for drug design. AI for drug design is limited by sparse and fragmented data, but deepmirror's AI-native infrastructure empowers chemistry teams to better harness their data to progress programs faster, with fewer dead ends. With each project, deepmirror's data sets grow and the model improves, generating even greater outcomes. deepmirror is based in London and is already trusted by 100+ organisations across the globe.
For more information, visit www.deepmirror.ai

About MMV 

MMV is a not-for-profit product development partnership working to discover, develop and deliver medicines to treat, prevent and eliminate malaria. Since 1999, over 1.48 billion people have benefited from our co-developed medicines. With over 600,000 malaria deaths every year, we unite partners to close remaining antimalarial access and innovation gaps. 
For more information, visit www.mmv.org. 

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For press enquiries, contact:

deepmirror:

Paul Southall
Portfolio Director, Commplicated
‍paul@commplicated.com 

MMV:

Doreen Yomoah
Communications Manager, MMV
yomoahd@mmv.org