Gates Pathogen Sequencing Call 2026

The Innovations in Low-Cost and Simplified Pathogen Sequencing Workflows call is a Grand Challenges request for proposals from the Gates Foundation, co-funded with Temasek Foundation and managed by the United Nations Foundation. It offered grants of up to US$800,000 (about ₹7.6 crore) to labs, companies and institutions that can bring the cost of sequencing a pathogen sample down to roughly US$1-10. This round closed on 29 September 2026 (11:30 am Pacific); the page does not announce a next round, so treat this listing as a guide to how Grand Challenges calls work and watch the Grand Challenges site for the next one.

What the program offers

The money is non-dilutive grant funding, split into three tiers by how mature your idea is. Tier 1 (early-stage feasibility) is up to US$300,000 (about ₹2.85 crore) for up to 24 months, for higher-risk concepts that need feasibility testing and prototyping. Tier 2 (mid-stage development) is up to US$600,000 (about ₹5.7 crore) for up to 24 months, for ideas with early evidence that are moving towards a joined-up workflow. Tier 3 (advanced development and validation) is up to US$800,000 (about ₹7.6 crore) for up to 36 months, for mature concepts that need refinement and proof-of-concept data in real low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings. About 15 awards were expected across the three tiers. Non-dilutive means you give up no ownership in your company.

The call wants better methods and workflows rather than new machines. Winning ideas should work on existing platforms such as Illumina, Oxford Nanopore and MGI/BGI, and should share one lab backbone with swappable primer panels or assay modules so a lab can switch pathogens without retooling. Savings should come from smarter protocols (for example amplicon assays, direct-from-sample amplification, one-pot reactions, or shelf-stable and freeze-dried reagents), not from buying in bulk.

Who can apply

The call was open to research institutes, nonprofits, for-profit companies, international organisations, government agencies and academic institutions. Individuals, as defined for US tax purposes, could not apply. Entities under United Nations sanctions or with serious US or UN sanction violations were excluded, and so were entities that earn revenue from controversial weapons or tobacco. Applicants had to follow the Gates Foundation's global access requirements, and consortia led by LMIC-based applicants were encouraged. The page lists no eligible-country restriction and does not exclude India, so an India-based biotech, diagnostics start-up, lab or research institute could apply as a legal entity. It suits molecular-biology and genomics teams, not general software start-ups.

How to apply

Applicants reviewed the Request for Proposals, Rules and Guidelines, Application Instructions, FAQs and a budget template, all linked from the challenge page. The RFP exists in English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Korean and Spanish. An applicant webinar was held on 1 September 2026, with registration and advance questions required, and a recording was posted. A proposal needed a preliminary cost model with realistic assumptions, simple protocols for routine public-health lab staff, a workplan with an 18-month plan and proof-of-concept data within the first 12 months, a budget justification, a roadmap to other pathogens and a pathway to mainstreaming in national surveillance. A practical tip: write the cost model first, because the US$1-10 target is the main test.

What counts and what does not

In scope are viral genomes (such as polio, measles, arboviruses, mpox), malaria drug-resistance and diagnostic-marker sequencing, tuberculosis drug-resistance sequencing, and bacterial pathogens for antimicrobial resistance and transmission. Out of scope are small tweaks to established workflows, approaches that rely only on bulk purchasing or higher throughput, methods that give up accuracy, non-sequencing assays, purely theoretical ideas and requests without a credible proof-of-concept plan. Applicants also had to be willing to support independent evaluation and sharing of protocols, reagents or data.

How applications are judged and what happens next

The page describes the judging only through its expectations: technical maturity, a credible cost path, operational fit for LMIC labs, platform compatibility, turnaround time and performance comparable to reference methods. It does not state a decision date or award-notification timeline. Final award numbers depend on quality, maturity, funding and strategic fit.

About the Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges

The Gates Foundation is a US-based private foundation working on global health and development. Grand Challenges is its set of open calls, with a rotating list of requests for proposals on the Grand Challenges site. For this call, regional and global partners include the International Pathogen Surveillance Network hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative and the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative.

Things to check before you apply next time

Confirm the eligible geography and any excluded countries in the Rules and Guidelines of the next call, since the page does not list them. Indirect costs are limited under the Gates Foundation policy; check the exact cap in the rules. Indian organisations receiving foreign money should check FCRA, FEMA and tax treatment with an adviser before applying. Applications went through the Foundation's own portal, in English, and the grant is paid in US dollars.