Two scientists at Northwestern University, Linda J. Broadbelt and Keith E.J. Tyo, will receive a $100,000 grant for research that could reduce drug prices for treating HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, according to a Northwestern University statement. They are working on methods of replacing the expensive, low-yield chemical processes for manufacturing these drugs with high-yield biosynthetic processes that use common, inexpensive reagents like sugar. The project should make these drugs more affordable to poorer countries, reducing disease transmission and mortality rates. The grant, from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has an associated follow-up grant of up to $1 million if the research is successful.

To read the Northwestern University statement, click here.