Wellcome's top grantees in fiscal year 2024-2025

Wellcome is one of the largest philanthropic health funders in the world. During the 2024/2025 financial year, Wellcome reported charitable spending of £1.9 billion on projects and research aimed at solving health challenges worldwide — an increase from the previous year, when it spent £1.5 billion. As of its latest report, Wellcome currently has 2,723 active grants with a total award value of £7.3 billion. Wellcome’s charitable spending is broken down into eight different activities: • Discovery research — funding research in different disciplines that will generate new knowledge. • Infectious disease — funding research and development of infectious disease interventions. • Mental health — funding research to understand, resolve, and intervene in anxiety, depression, and psychosis. • Climate and health — funding research to understand how climate change is affecting health. • Wellcome Collection — Wellcome’s museum and library that showcases Wellcome’s funded research and interventions. • Cross-mission • Wellcome Sanger Institute — a U.K.-based genomic research center funded by Wellcome. One of its main goals is to support the sequencing of the whole human genome. • Wellcome Leap — a U.S.-based nonprofit that has adopted an innovation model based on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. Its goal is to tackle big health projects effectively and quickly by utilizing the innovation model to create new solutions. Discovery research grants received the most funding with £841 million, followed by infectious diseases with £228 million, mental health with £138 million, and climate and health with £145 million. Cross-mission grants reached £232 million. The Wellcome Sanger Institute received £205 million, while Wellcome Leap received £89 million. With all the money spent on research, who were the lucky ones who got a share of the pot? During the same financial year, Wellcome awarded nearly £1.2 billion to different research organizations worldwide. Using its grant database, Devex will be identifying the top grantees overall, as well as the top grantees from the global south. Who are Wellcome’s top grantees overall? University of Oxford Total grant amount: 66 Number of grants received: £217.4 million The University of Oxford is the biggest recipient of grants. It received 66 grants worth £217.4 million. The largest of these amounted to £100.2 million to support the MORU research program — which aims to improve the health of people living in low-resource settings in tropical regions. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Total grant amount: 9 Number of grants received: £122.5 million The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine received nine awards amounting to £122.5 million. The largest of these amounted to £109.5 million to fund research activities that aim to improve the health of people in Malawi and the southern African region. University College London Total grant amount: 35 Number of grants received: £71.4 million The University College London received 35 awards worth £71.4 million. The largest of these amounted to £35 million to understand the mechanism of intelligence in brains and machines through linking neuroscience and machine learning. Who are Wellcome’s top grantees from the global south? Science for Africa Foundation Total grant amount: 4 Number of grants received: £15.1 million The Science for Africa Foundation is a Kenya-based nonprofit and charitable organization made up of scientists from different fields. Its aim is to promote and strengthen the use of science to improve the lives of people in Africa. It received four awards, amounting to £15.1 million. The biggest of these amounted to £10 million for the GEN-IMPACT project, which aims to integrate genomics into population health research. The Biovac Institute Total grant amount: 1 Number of grants received: £9 million The Biovac Institute is a South Africa-based pharmaceutical institution that manufactures and distributes vaccines. It received a single award worth £9 million to address the shortage of the oral cholera vaccine in Africa. University of Cape Town Total grant amount: 5 Number of grants received: £8.5 million The University of Cape Town is based in South Africa. It received five awards worth £8.5 million. The largest of these amounted to £6 million to conduct extensive research on the prevention and design of vaccinations for M. tuberculosis infections. Africa Health Research Institute Total grant amount: 1 Number of grants received: £7.2 million The Africa Health Research Institute is another South Africa-based scientific research institution. Its main purpose is to utilize science across all fields to improve the lives of South Africans. It received a single award worth £7.2 million to study the different strains of asymptomatic tuberculosis transmission. Kintampo Health Research Centre Total grant amount: 2 Number of grants received: £5.6 million Kintampo Health Research Centre is a Ghana-based research facility. It is one of the field research centres of the Research and Development Division of the Ghana Health Service. It received two awards worth £5.6 million. The largest of these amounted to £3.1 million to study the association between prenatal health and maternal depression and anxiety. Uganda Virus Research Institute Total grant amount: 1 Number of grants received: £5.6 million The Uganda Virus Research Institute conducts research, surveillance, and diagnostics for infectious diseases. It received a single award worth £5.6 million to study how the dengue and Zika viruses spread in understudied areas of Uganda and Mexico, as well as their surrounding regions. University of Zimbabwe Total grant amount: 1 Number of grants received: £5.46 million The University of Zimbabwe received a single award worth £5.5 million to optimize the Inuka app in Zimbabwe further. Inuka is an app that allows broad access to digital mental health interventions. International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya Total grant amount: 1 Number of grants received: £5.2 million The International Livestock Research Institute is a research center centered around livestock and food security. It received a single award worth £5.2 million to study the endemic dynamics of the Rift Valley Fever virus to provide policymakers with evidence-based strategies for control. South African Medical Research Council Total grant amount: 1 Number of grants received: £4.2 million The South African Medical Research Council is another research institution based in South Africa. It received a single award worth £4.2 million to ensure the sustainability and advancement of health research in South Africa. Wits Health Consortium Total grant amount: 5 Number of grants received: £4 million Wits Health Consortium is a scientific research institution owned by the Witwatersrand University. It received five awards, amounting to £4 million. The largest of these amounted to £3.1 million to train researchers and use high-quality genomic and phenotypic platforms to understand the triggers for adaptation in the Cryptococcus genus. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.