HitGen Inc (SSE:688222), a China-based drug discovery research company, announced on Thursday that it has signed a new agreement with the Gates Foundation, a US-based nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world.

HitGen will leverage its DNA-encoded library (DEL) platform to identify novel drug leads for the treatment of underserved diseases including tuberculosis and malaria, as well as to discover novel agents for non-hormonal contraception.

Under the terms of the agreement, HitGen will conduct DEL screening against 15 drug targets identified by the Gates Foundation in cooperation with its partners in academia and research institutes. HitGen will receive funding for the discovery work from the Gates Foundation, building upon a previous project supported by the foundation under which HitGen identified novel drug leads for the treatment of malaria and tuberculosis.

Dr. Jin Li, HitGen Inc chairman of the board and CEO, said: "We are honoured to continue this important work with support from the Gates Foundation. We look forward to engaging with other world-leading philanthropic and academic institutions to deliver transformative solutions for patients with unmet medical needs."