Cost-Disrupting Innovations to Reduce the Cost of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food

Before applying, applicants should familiarize themselves with the supporting documents for this Grand Challenge, including the terms and conditions of the Gates Foundation, the Rules and Guidelines, Application Instructions, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

If you are planning to apply to this RFP, we will be hosting a dedicated webinar on March 30, from 7:00-8:00 AM Pacific Time. This session will provide a comprehensive overview of the RFP details and an opportunity to have your questions answered. To participate in the webinar, please register and submit your questions in advance. If you cannot attend live, the webinar will be recorded and available on this challenge page after the session.

Please note that Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and GiveWell have expressed interest in potentially funding projects submitted through this RFP. Representatives from these organizations will participate in the review process. Applicants will be notified if their proposal is selected for further consideration by either organization.

Background

Global resources available for the treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) are flat or declining, while the burden of wasting remains high. Under these constraints, improving outcomes will depend on seeking to expand budgets but also more on fundamentally improving the cost-effectiveness of SAM treatment.

This Grand Challenge seeks innovations that can substantially increase the number of children treated for SAM per dollar of spend. We are interested in solutions that achieve step-change improvements in economics by reducing the cost of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). Another Grand Challenges RFP looks at reducing the total cost of treating a child without changing the unit cost of RUTF or using a RUTF alternative.

The Grand Challenge is explicitly designed as an idea-sourcing and proof-of-concept mechanism.

The Challenge

We seek innovative approaches capable of achieving at least a 30% reduction in the ex-factory unit cost of RUTF in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Cost reductions should be calculated relative to the applicant's own current ex-factory production baseline or a clearly justified comparator. Applicants should explicitly state baseline assumptions. Reductions are not required to be measured against a single global benchmark price.

This call focuses specifically on physical composition, ingredients, manufacturing, packaging, and factory-level production economics. Clinical trials and delivery-only approaches are out of scope.

All formulations must present a plausible pathway to meet the Codex Guidelines for Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (CXG 95 2022).

Solutions must:

• Provide a validated pathway to ≥30% cost reduction.
• Include a transparent cost model with clear assumptions and sensitivity analysis.
• Demonstrate proof-of-concept feasibility (e.g., pilot manufacturing, engineering models, simulations).
• Present a credible pathway to normative/regulatory acceptance and adoption.
• Show a clear scalability pathway with durable cost reductions at scale.

Focus Areas

Applicants may propose innovations under one or more of the following focus areas:

Cross-Cutting Requirements

All funded projects must address:

• Clinical Safety and Nutritional Adequacy.
  • Compliance with Codex RUTF Guidelines (CXG 95-2022).
  • Energy density: 520–550 kcal/100g.
  • Protein: 10–12% energy.
  • Lipids: 45–60% energy.
  • PDCAAS ≥0.9 (preference toward 1.0).
  • Micronutrient and food safety compliance.

Projects materially altering formulation must present a path to clinical noninferiority and normative acceptance.

• LMIC Applicability & Equity
  • Feasible manufacturing in LMICs
  • Strengthened regional production capacity
  • Encouragement of LMIC-led consortia
• Intellectual Property & Global Access
  • Nonexclusive or affordable licensing in low-income and humanitarian markets
  • Evidence sharing with normative agencies
• Data Sharing & Transparency
• Environmental Considerations
• Responsible Use of AI & Digital Technologies 

Funding Structure

For any of the Focus Areas we will consider proposals under two funding options. Please consider which is most relevant to your proposal.

• Option A: We will consider proposals for awards of up to $500,000 USD across any of the categories within this call, with a grant term of up to 18 months. Application budgets should be commensurate with the scope of work proposed.
• Option B: We will consider several proposals for awards of up to $1,500,000 USD for each project, with a grant term of up to 36 months. Application budgets should be commensurate with the scope of work proposed.

Indirect costs should be included in the budget and should not exceed 10-15% of the total award (subject to the Gates Foundation's indirect cost policy).

Eligibility

We welcome applications from universities and research institutes, RUTF manufacturers and food processors, ingredient and packaging suppliers, engineering and technology firms, NGOs with strong technical capacity, and for-profit entities (subject to global access requirements). Consortia led by or including LMIC-based organizations are strongly encouraged. Individuals and organizations classified as individuals for U.S. tax purposes are not eligible to receive an award from the foundation as part of this initiative. 

What we are looking for

Successful proposals will:

• Demonstrate ≥30% ex-factory cost reduction.
• Include a credible, transparent cost model.
• Provide proof-of-concept feasibility evidence.
• Present a regulatory and normative adoption pathway.
• Show durable scalability.
• Address LMIC manufacturability and equity considerations.
   

We will not fund proposals that:

• Focus solely on policy advocacy or tariff reform.
• Are standalone training or general capacity-building efforts.
• Subsidize routine operations or infrastructure.
• Are purely market studies.
• Rely on price negotiation or procurement tactics without technological innovation.
• Focus solely on clinical trials.
• Focus solely on delivery models without product innovation.