Bill Gates Lauds Work Done On Vaccines In India And Efforts To Bring Costs Down

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on his arrival in India appreciated the work on vaccines in India, he was also impressed by the low cost of various products. Addressing the gathering, Bill Gates said, "...In the world of vaccines, there's a lot to be done and a lot of that great work will happen here in India. I was impressed to hear about how you're bringing the cost of various products down. No doubt that's important for the entire world...The idea of having a TB diagnostic is our top priority for diagnostics. There are many diagnostics that we want, but the one that would be the most dramatic would be to have something like a $2 or less TB diagnostic, which would meet the goals that the government of India and the Gates Foundation have of reducing TB cases making that quite realistic... One disease that you mentioned, sickle cell, is a significant priority for the Gates Foundation. Even though India has significant sickle cell, it's Africa where you have the most dramatic burden for that. So in the same way that you're looking for a low-cost genetic therapy for sickle cell, we're doing that. So I'd love to combine our efforts..."