In a post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists” blog, Trevor Mundel, president of global health at the foundation, examines the Vaccine Discovery Partnership, “a new initiative that will lead to better and more effective approaches to vaccine research and development.” The new effort “will be a way for our foundation to work directly with pharmaceutical companies on promising new vaccines for global health,” he states, adding, “We will work with each company individually to identify a promising set of research projects that are aligned with our foundation’s priorities.” Mundel notes, “GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi are the first two companies with whom we’ve signed agreements” (10/29).