Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates committed $700 million to battle diseases that kill millions of people a year, saying experimental technologies like a matchstick-sized implant to prevent HIV could become new weapons in the global effort.
The implant, under development by Merck & Co. and inserted just under the skin of a patient’s arm, is among potential breakthroughs Gates is set to highlight in a speech in France Thursday. Others include a tuberculosis vaccine GlaxoSmithKline Plc is developing.
