Global health research institute specializing in tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, drug development, and epidemiology across low- and middle-income countries.
Swiss TPH is a world-leading research institute focused on infectious diseases of poverty — particularly tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases (helminths, filariasis), and vector-borne infections. They combine epidemiology, drug development, clinical trials, and health systems research to tackle diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries. Their work spans the full pipeline from pathogen genomics and drug discovery through large-scale randomized controlled trials to health policy translation, with growing capacity in environmental health (exposome, biomonitoring) and digital health (AI, eHealth, disease modelling).
DRTB-HDT (host-directed therapy RCT), ECOEVODRTB (evolution of multidrug-resistant TB), and EstAMR (antimicrobial resistance prevalence) form a coherent TB pipeline from basic science to clinical intervention.
HELP (pan-nematode drug development platform, largest single grant at EUR 3.3M), DRUGSBUGS (pharmacomicrobiomics for soil-transmitted helminthiases), and LEPVORS (Mycobacterium leprae drug resistance).
Participation in ALEC (lung ageing cohorts), HBM4EU (human biomonitoring), EXPANSE (urban exposome), EPOCHAL (pollen and cardiorespiratory health), and CORESMA (COVID-19 serolomics).
DMC-MALVEC (malaria vector diagnostics), ZikaPLAN (Zika preparedness network), and PREPARE4VBD (emerging vector-borne disease prediction).
Perform2scale (district management in Africa), WHO-PENatScale (primary health systems in Swaziland), and EPOCH (women's political empowerment and child health).
CORESMA (AI and eHealth for COVID-19 response) and DMC-MALVEC (automated diagnostic platform and data management) signal growing digital health capabilities.
In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), Swiss TPH focused primarily on large observational cohort studies and vector/malaria control — projects like ALEC (lung function cohorts), DMC-MALVEC (malaria diagnostics), and HBM4EU (chemical exposure biomonitoring). From 2019 onward, a clear shift emerged toward drug development and therapeutic intervention, especially for tuberculosis and helminth infections, with Swiss TPH increasingly taking the coordinator role on ambitious multi-centre trials (DRTB-HDT, HELP, DRUGSBUGS, ECOEVODRTB). The recent period also shows expansion into AI-driven modelling, antimicrobial resistance estimation, and environmental health (pollen, exposome), indicating a broadening from pure tropical medicine toward global health threats including AMR and climate-related disease.
Swiss TPH is moving from observational epidemiology toward leading interventional drug development programs, with growing investment in antimicrobial resistance and AI-powered disease modelling — making them an increasingly strong partner for translational and clinical-stage consortia.
Swiss TPH operates as both a consortium leader and a strong technical partner, with a slight lean toward participation (14 projects) over coordination (8 projects). However, their coordinated projects tend to be the most ambitious and best-funded ones (HELP at EUR 3.3M, DRUGSBUGS at EUR 2.5M, ECOEVODRTB at EUR 1.9M), showing they take the lead when the science is closest to their core expertise. With 248 unique partners across 55 countries, they are a genuine global hub — not locked into a small circle of repeat collaborators — which reflects the inherently international nature of tropical and public health research.
Swiss TPH has built an exceptionally broad network of 248 unique consortium partners spanning 55 countries, one of the widest geographic footprints possible in H2020. Their partnerships stretch well beyond Europe into Africa, Latin America, and Asia, reflecting their tropical disease and global health mandate.
Swiss TPH occupies a rare position as a research institute that bridges high-income country scientific rigour with deep operational presence in low- and middle-income countries, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Unlike purely academic partners, they run clinical trials, health system interventions, and drug development programs on the ground, making them both a research and implementation partner. Their combination of TB/NTD drug development expertise, pathogen genomics, and health systems experience in resource-limited settings is difficult to replicate and highly sought after for Horizon Europe Global Health calls.
