Deadline:
Jun 2, 2026About This Funding Call:
This is one of the largest and most significant infectious disease research funding opportunities available globally. The Wellcome Trust, in partnership with the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and using UK international development funding from the UK Government (through FCDO), is funding transdisciplinary teams led from Africa, South Asia, or South-East Asia to conduct randomised controlled trials that optimise licensed pharmaceutical interventions for infectious diseases. The clinical trials should generate evidence to inform changes to policy, practice, and guidelines, and lead to measurable impact in the communities most affected, ultimately improving the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Wellcome hopes to make between 8 and 12 awards in this highly competitive call.
The Core Purpose:
Despite the availability of licensed vaccines and therapeutics, many infectious disease interventions fail to achieve their full impact due to gaps in implementation data, suboptimal dosing regimens, inadequate understanding of how to deploy them in real-world settings, and insufficient locally generated evidence. This funding call addresses that challenge by supporting research that bridges the gap between clinical innovation and real-world application. The focus is on OPTIMISATION — not discovering new drugs or vaccines, but generating the evidence needed to use existing interventions more effectively in the communities most affected.
Four Disease Areas:
Who Can Apply — Team Requirements:
The team must include a lead applicant and at least one coapplicant based at an organisation in Africa, South Asia, or South-East Asia, both of whom intend to remain resident in that country for the duration of the award. The team must not exceed eight applicants (lead applicant and seven coapplicants) — there is no limit on collaborators. At least 50% of applicants must be based in Africa, South Asia, or South-East Asia. Teams may include coapplicants based at eligible organisations in other parts of the world. The team must have expertise in clinical trial design and conduct, data analysis, and generating evidence for policy impact. Must include public health stakeholders and policymakers as coapplicants or collaborators. Must demonstrate community engagement experience.
Lead Applicant Requirements: Must be a mid-career or established researcher. Must be based at an organisation in an eligible country (including Nepal) and intend to remain resident for the award duration. Must have clinical trial design and conduct experience. Must hold a permanent, open-ended, or long-term rolling contract. Salary must be paid by the host organisation (LMIC-based applicants can request salary contribution if they rely on external grant funding). Can only be lead on ONE application for this call.
Coapplicants: Can be based anywhere in the world (except mainland China). Can be at any career stage. Must be essential for project delivery. Can be involved in maximum two applications for this call.
Eligible Countries — South Asia:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, NEPAL, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Also eligible: Countries across Africa and South-East Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam).
Assessment Criteria:
Applications are assessed by an expert committee on quality of research design, feasibility, team expertise and composition, potential for policy and practice impact, community engagement, equity and inclusion, and value for money. Shortlisted applications proceed to further review. The committee includes diverse international members.
Related Opportunity — Development Award (Smaller):
For teams that are not yet ready for a full clinical trial application — those needing to build their team, develop their clinical trial protocol, or generate pilot data — Wellcome also offers the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award. This smaller award has a deadline of May 19, 2026, and approximately 20 awards are expected. The same eligible countries apply, including Nepal. This is delivered in partnership with FCDO.
Details: https://wellcome.org/research-funding/schemes/infectious-disease-clinical-trial-development-award
Nepal Eligibility and Relevance:
Nepal is EXPLICITLY LISTED among the eligible South Asia countries. Nepal-based researchers can serve as lead applicants or coapplicants. Nepal presents strong alignment with multiple disease areas.
Tuberculosis in Nepal: Nepal has an estimated TB incidence of approximately 245 per 100,000 population — one of the highest in South Asia. Multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a growing concern. Nepal's TB treatment programme faces challenges with treatment adherence, regimen optimisation, and reaching remote populations. Clinical trials optimising TB treatment — shorter regimens, improved drug combinations, community-based treatment approaches — would be highly impactful and directly relevant.
Bacterial Infections: Nepal faces significant burdens of lower respiratory tract infections (a leading cause of child mortality), bloodstream infections (including typhoid, which remains endemic), and STIs (including gonorrhea with emerging antimicrobial resistance). Clinical trials optimising antibiotic regimens, testing simplified treatment protocols, or addressing AMR in the Nepali context would be valuable.
Neglected Tropical Diseases: Leishmaniasis (kala-azar) is endemic in Nepal's Terai districts — Nepal is one of the three countries (with India and Bangladesh) targeted for regional elimination. Clinical trials optimising leishmaniasis treatment regimens or testing new combination therapies in the Nepali context would directly support elimination goals.
Potential Nepal-Based Lead Applicants: Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine (IOM) — Nepal's largest medical school with clinical research capacity. BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) — major medical research institution in eastern Nepal. Patan Academy of Health Sciences — with growing clinical research capability. Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) — the national health research regulatory and coordinating body. International research organisations with Nepal offices — such as Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, KEMRI-Wellcome-type partnerships, or other established clinical trial networks with Nepal presence.
Why This Matters for Nepal: A £1M–£8M Wellcome clinical trial award led from Nepal would be transformative for the country's research ecosystem — establishing Nepal as a clinical trial leader in South Asia, building lasting research infrastructure, training the next generation of clinical researchers, and generating locally relevant evidence to improve Nepal's infectious disease treatment policies. The partnership model (with NIHR and FCDO) provides additional credibility and support structures.
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