Montpellier, France, November 24, 2025 — Medincell has announced that it has been awarded up to $3 million in new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance its investigational mdc-STM program, a three-month subcutaneous injectable formulation of ivermectin intended to reduce malaria transmission by neutralizing disease-carrying mosquitoes when they bite individuals who have received the dose. This new grant marks a significant milestone in the development of a promising long-acting intervention aimed at protecting vulnerable communities in regions with high malaria burden. The mdc-STM program represents an innovative shift in malaria-prevention research. Instead of targeting the parasite inside the human host, Medincell’s approach focuses on interrupting transmission at the mosquito level, using long-acting ivermectin delivered via a sustained-release injectable formulation. Building on existing research showing that oral ivermectin can reduce malaria transmission, Medincell aims to overcome the compliance and operational limitations of oral dosing by creating a formulation that maintains effective blood levels throughout the peak malaria season.
Science Significance
Malaria continues to affect hundreds of millions globally each year, with children under five in sub-Saharan Africa facing disproportionate risk. One of the most promising scientific strategies to disrupt transmission is deploying ivermectin to shorten mosquito lifespan and reduce their chances of transmitting malaria. While oral ivermectin has shown transmission-blocking effects, it requires repeated dosing, limiting its practicality during mass drug administration campaigns. The mdc-STM product overcomes this challenge by using Medincell’s BEPO polymer-based platform, which enables a three-month controlled-release profile from a single injection. This provides consistent ivermectin exposure that aligns with vector-season dynamics. The science behind this approach integrates pharmacokinetic modelling, controlled-release polymer chemistry, and a detailed understanding of mosquito-population biology. This positions mdc-STM as a scientifically grounded, next-generation tool for community-wide malaria control.
Regulatory Significance
The new funding supports critical steps required before initiating first-in-human clinical evaluation, including finalizing toxicology studies, optimizing formulation stability, and ensuring the manufacturing process aligns with regulatory expectations for long-acting injectable products. The transition from preclinical modelling to human trials requires a comprehensive regulatory package demonstrating consistent release kinetics, reproducibility, safety, and quality.
Medincell’s previous regulatory successes with BEPO-based long-acting injectables provide a strong foundation for advancing mdc-STM. The program represents an emerging category of preventive, long-acting antiparasitic medicines that regulators will increasingly evaluate as part of integrated global-health strategies.
Business Significance
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This grant strengthens Medincell’s position as a leader in long-acting injectables and expands its footprint in infectious-disease innovation. The financial support reduces early-stage risk and advances a high-impact program that aligns with global funding trends focused on durable, community-level health interventions. The progress of mdc-STM also enhances the company’s broader long-acting technology platform, potentially encouraging partnerships with global-health organizations, nonprofits, and international distribution networks.
As malaria continues to impose significant economic and health burdens in low-resource regions, scalable innovations like mdc-STM may play a major role in shaping future public-health investment landscapes.
Patients’ Significance
Although the injectable does not directly prevent malaria infection in the treated individual, its potential community-wide protection may significantly improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations. By reducing mosquito lifespan and density, the therapy indirectly protects children, pregnant women, and adults living in high-transmission areas.
The long-acting formulation reduces reliance on daily or weekly dosing, minimizes compliance challenges, and supports large-scale deployment during seasonal peaks. The treatment may also offer secondary benefits by reducing other parasitic infections commonly treated with ivermectin, which can further improve quality of life in underserved communities.
Policy Significance
Global health policies increasingly emphasize integrated approaches to malaria control beyond traditional insecticide-treated nets, indoor spraying, and antimalarial drugs. Long-acting ivermectin injectables represent a complementary tool that aligns with international strategies focused on reducing transmission at the community level.
The Gates Foundation grant reflects policy interest in scalable, equitable, and durable interventions capable of overcoming logistical barriers in mass drug administration programs. As global stakeholders look toward the next generation of malaria eradication tools, long-acting formulations like mdc-STM may help shape future guidelines and policy priorities.
Medincell’s progress toward developing a long-acting injectable ivermectin formulation marks a critical advance in malaria-control innovation. With strong scientific underpinnings, credible manufacturing technology, and fresh financial support, the mdc-STM program is now positioned to move toward clinical development. This achievement represents a powerful convergence of biotechnology, global-health funding, and public-health need—offering the possibility of a new tool capable of protecting entire communities and strengthening worldwide efforts to reduce malaria transmission.
Source: Medincell press release
